Blue Angels
by ShadowMajin
Summary: Sequel to Breaking Grace. With the universe recovering, a group of homeless warriors are given a desperate choice; one that can unmake the tragedy of their lives.
1. Valkyrie Missile

That's right, here it is, the moment you all've been waiting for. The third installment of my Battle Stain trilogy is here for your reading enjoyment. However, due to my current writing situation, it'll be a bit slow with updating. I'm in the midst of post Unfriendly Competion and writing my entries for the GohanVidel Week event; not to mention the latest SweetestIrony contest; and lastly, the every present...school. A very busy mouth it will be for me but I will try to just this story rolling throughout. Most likely a once a week posting.

And on that note, I, ShadowMajin, bring to you Blue Angels.

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ

Disclaimer 2: Don't own the Song titles of Evans Blue and Angels & Airwaves

* * *

It was gone, all of it; not even a shred of it was left.

Staring out into the endless expanse of space, Gohan wished this was all just a bad dream, that he would wake up from it anytime now and see his home planet.

That wish wasn't fulfilled.

"It's gone…" the saiyan whispered softly, a small welling of tears appearing at his eyes. After all the suffering, all the pain, the sorrow, this was how he and his comrades were repaid? Their home destroyed and left as small chunks of debris? Somewhere, the gods were laughing at their plight.

How could something like this have happened? The last Gohan had seen of it, he, his little brother Goten, and Trunks had left the planet on a last resort mission to free their people. The mission had been a success as they had defeated the leaders of their enemy, the people of Earth.

However, as they were on their way back, they had to make a couple detours, courtesy of the Cold Empire and a centuries-old demon. That wasn't much of a big deal since they put both enemies down and out for the count. That had actually been fun.

But now, all of that didn't matter. Their home, all their friends, family; all of it was gone and they had no answer as to how it happened.

While the Son boy couldn't say that this was what Hell must've been like, since he had been there not too long ago, the feeling had to be similar. Last time, he had only been a visitor, along with the other two saiyans, and hadn't had much time to think about being in Hell.

"How…how could this have happen?" a voice belonging to a human, one known as Tien, asked. He, like the rest of them, was rendered almost numb from the dreadful sight.

No one was able to answer that question. All of their systems, mental and emotional, had been overloaded with this. There was nothing they could think of that was reasonable or even felt logical.

They were trapped in a void of depression with what appeared to be no way out.

Silence hovered over the mixed group of saiyans and humans. There would've been a Namek too, but he had decided to return to his home planet, wishing them the best as they continued their way.

Finally, Gohan broke the dismal quietness. "I think…I think I'm going to my room."

No one replied to his statement, all staring out the large main window. Slowly, the battle worn warrior left the control room and headed to his quarters, entering it once arriving there.

The moment he sat on the bed, tears finally leaked out. This was just too much; first he had lost his mother and home; then his father and the closest person he would ever have to a second father; and now his uncle and friends were gone. What had he ever done to deserve such a fate? One of the last of his kind in the universe?

Falling backwards, the saiyan's back landed on the mattress, allowing him to seek some form of comfort in it. However, that comfort would be delayed a little while longer.

A knock on the door broke the stillness of the room, announcing the presence of another person. Quickly wiping his face to destroy any evidence of crying, the saiyan rose back into a seated position to await the newcomer.

Slowly, the door opened and in stepped a small human girl. Though short in stature, she was a firecracker when she wanted to be and stopped at nothing to get what she wanted…well, almost nothing.

Now, when Gohan had said he would be going to his room, it probably would've been a better choice of words to say he was going to his and Videl's room. Ever since they had left Namek after their confrontation with the Cold Empire, the two had been sharing a room, not to mention a bed. One thing led to another and the two, a saiyan warrior and a daughter of a war hero, had gotten quite close intimately. If there hadn't been a war between the two's peoples, it would've been likely that they would've gotten closer faster than they had.

As soon as Videl had closed the door, the dark headed girl slowly approached Gohan, a forlorn look on her face. Though any grief she might've had for the loss of Planet Vegeta, she knew that it wouldn't amount to anything that was being felt by the two younger saiyans and her lover.

Yet, that didn't matter. Sitting down next to the fighter, she leaned against him, soon wrapping her arms around his body; Gohan repeating the action soon after.

Like before, no words were express, just the couple taking solace in the other's company. After awhile, Videl finally broke the silence. "Do you remember, when we first met, that boy that attacked you?"

While that wasn't exactly what the Son boy had thought the girl would say, it was also something that he had pretty much forgotten about. In all honesty, he didn't remember much of their first meeting besides the fact that they had met. There was something about a basement and then destroying a mansion, but that was about it.

"Not really. You might have to be more specific about the guy," the saiyan answered.

A small silence passed before the Satan girl replied "He had long blond hair and was acting arrogant around you."

"Not ringing any bells."

"…you punched him through a wall?"

Now that sounded familiar. Looked like the "Son memory" was starting to affect him. It had once been said that no one of the Son family could remember any detail of their personal life but when it came to battle, they could remember every single detail of it, even if they had gone senile. Heck, his great-great-grandfather had once recited an entire battle on his deathbed, or so family legend claimed.

"Okay, I think I know who you're talking about. What about him?"

"You did quite a number on him, you know?" Videl said. "He had a leg cast and a neck brace after that. It was actually pretty funny," she ended with a couple giggles.

"So what brought him up?" Gohan inquired.

"The last time I saw him, me and Erasa had persuaded him not to join us in chasing you. I haven't thought about him since." Videl paused for a moment. "But the last I knew, he was still on Vegeta…so he's probably dead now. He might still be alive had we let him tag along."

Gohan saw where this was going almost immediately. The Satan girl was starting to feel guilty about a decision made long ago. Though there was a slight pang of anger in him for her thoughts of her loses, the saiyan pushed that aside. Everyone on this ship had lost someone at some point, and anyone left had obviously died when the planet died. Grief would be hanging over everyone for the time being.

Turning his head to look at her, the saiyan studied the girl. After a moment, he leaned in and pressed his lips on her forehead, causing a small confusion within the girl.

Letting another moment pass, Gohan finally spoke "There's no way you would've known that Vegeta was gonna be destroyed; none of us did. If there's any feeling that you indirectly caused someone's death, you better get rid of it. No way, no how is his death your fault. If anything, it's his fault. He tried picking a fight with a saiyan warrior and paid the price for it. That was the only thing that kept him here."

A small smile graced Videl's face as she moved her head to look at the boy. "You sure have a way with words Gohan."

"I try my best."

Keeping her smile, Videl's face soon drifted up to the saiyan's, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. After that, Videl returned to her original position of leaning into Gohan, looking out in front of her. "Thanks Gohan; I needed that."

"Anytime."

* * *

It was cold, freezing cold. And dark, as if light had never existed before. Those were the first thoughts of the man as his conscious awoken.

How long he was in that stasis though, that of the freezing darkness, he didn't know. Sometimes it felt as if he was just recently born there and other times as if he had been there for all eternity. There were even times when he knew that he had experience things before this darkness.

From what he understood of those experiences, he was a man that would've demanded answers for being kept in this perpetual state of obscurity. Anyone that would've proven unsatisfactory in pursuit of his demands would've been removed immediately…and permanently.

Yet, despite this recollection, he found an infinite amount of patience. It was almost as if he was waiting for something to happen, something that would trigger an event that would allow him to dispose of this desolation and allow him to once again enter the world.

That line of thinking proved to be correct. Whether it had truly been an eternity of waiting or just a few moments' worth, a trigger was activated, and he dispelled the prison of darkness.

Opening his eyes, the man found that he was in a dimly lit room. Make that a freezing, dimly lit room; not that it mattered since the cold didn't seem to be affecting him.

It took only a moment for the man to realize that he was laying on some sort of metal table; one that was surrounded by large machines that were currently running. Odd; the room didn't seem to be as dim as his first analysis told him. It seemed as if he could see as plain as day in here, yet no lights had been turned on.

Almost mechanically, his top half rose from the table. Instantly, he took notice of his clothes. Baggy brown pants covered his lower half with white and black boots on his feet. A yellow shirt adorned his chest with a black vest over it. A slight weight on top of his head informed him that a hat of some sort covered his skull. It was then, almost as if a switched had been flipped inside his head, that he knew his name.

Gero…his name was Gero.

"I see the operation was a success," a high pitched, shrill voice commented. "I never had a doubt that the operation wouldn't be, though the plans were a bit different from what I'm used to."

Keeping his body perfectly still, Gero slid his hard piercing, blue eyes to his right, catching sight of a man. If there was ever a need to find someone old and feeble, this man was the perfect definition. Dark, leathery skin was revealed where ever his white lab coat and suit stopped. His bald head and wide eyes were noticeable, though Gero couldn't help but drift his sights to his mouth, where a single tooth remained. A cane was supporting some of the old man's weight as he leaned on it.

"Where am I?" Gero methodically inquired, sounding as if he was demanding the answer.

"You, my friend, are in the laboratory of the great Dr. Wheelo. It was he who instructed me to more or less bring you back to life. You may call me Coten, Dr. Wheelo's assistant."

In the same tone of voice he had used earlier, the former leader of Earth said "And who is this Dr. Wheelo? I've never heard of him."

The reaction from Coten looked as if the man had spoken blasphemy. "Dr. Wheelo is the universe's greatest mind! No man or creature could ever hope to match his brilliance, not even someone of your mind, Former Twentieth Chair Gero!"

A slight frown creased the wrinkly face of Gero. There was that usage, that reference of him being dead. Why did this man continue to use that?

That was when a memory answered his question. The recollection showed him lying against a wall, his arms torn right off his body. In front of him, there was a saiyan with a bloody hole in his stomach and he held a swirling orb of energy in his hand. After speaking, the saiyan threw the orb and blew him to smithereens.

Gero's eyes widened. He had died! Actually, physically died! Yet, he was here, alive and well. Something was up and he intended to find out why.

"Tell me…Coten…how is it that I've been revived?"

Coten smirked. "I created a mechanized body of your original one and placed your consciousness in it. Though I do admit that part was tough. I was lucky enough to find your brain relatively intact."

"My brain? But that should've been destroyed in the blast."

"That it should've, but I guess you must've forgotten that titanium plate you had inserted around your skull. Even I must say that was ingenious. If it wasn't for that plate, your brain would've surely been destroyed; but fortunately for you, it wasn't. As a matter of fact, the plate had been partially covering you brain when I found it."

That answered some questions of Gero's, that was for certain. However, there was still one more he needed to be solved. "And why is it that you've found it convenient to return me to this world?"

"Isn't it obvious? To restore Earth to its proper place as the ultimate ruler of the universe."


	2. Shine Your Cadillac

Though the answer to his question wasn't quite what he expected, Gero couldn't have been more pleased. What better reason was there to bring him back and help restore the planet he had once wielded as a universal power?

"I cannot tell you how much it delights me that the people of Earth would go to these lengths to bring me back," the old man said. "You honor me very much."

"I wouldn't say that," Coten chuckled.

That had been unexpected. "What ever do you mean? You did bring me back so I could guide humanity back to its former glory, correct?"

"Oh yes, but not in the role you believe," the man answered. "While you did do a splendid job on bringing power to the human race, me and my fellow colleague weren't too impressed. Many a night we dreamt of what humans could achieve with us in power."

Gero narrowed his eyes. "And who is this colleague you speak of?"

"Why Dr. Wheelo of course."

"You believe some low level scientist that most of the world hasn't heard of would do a better job than I? Your thinking, I find, is that of a two year old," Gero said, teed off slightly.

"How dare you speak of Dr. Wheelo in such a matter?! I should deactivate you and toss you into the scrapheap!"

"Is that a threat?" Gero spoke calmly.

"You must have a few loose screws Former Twentieth Chair if you couldn't figure that one out; ones I'll have to tighten immediately."

"I think you've misspoken Coten," Gero replied. "You see, I am in perfect, functioning order; and thanks to your operation, I now have the power to dispose of you quite easily."

Fear suddenly appeared in the man's eyes. "You wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't I?"

"Coten," a deep, booming voice called out through an intercom that hung over the door. "Bring our guest to the main room. I believe that he needs some convincing."

Staring at the voice box, a look of disbelief was clearly written on Coten's face. "I believe Dr. Wheelo would like to meet you Gero."

"Is that so?"

Looking at the recently created android, the scientist moved towards the door, opening it, and walking through, leaving the door open. Taking that as a cue, Gero preceded to the door, following Coten.

After walking down a short hallway, the two entered a very large, very dark room. Must've been electrical problems, Gero surmised. If this was his laboratory, such a thing wouldn't have occurred.

The booming voice, once again, was heard. "Turn on the lights Coten."

"But sir!" the scientist cried. "This android doesn't deserve to gaze upon your glorious being! He—"

"I said turn on the lights."

That seemed to defeat any protest that Coten held. With a glare at Gero, the old man disappeared into the darkness, leaving the android alone.

Suddenly, the sound of electricity running into stadium lights was heard, lighting them up on the ceiling of the room. Taking quick notice of this, Gero scanned the room and found it mostly empty except for some pipes running along the walls and a podium towards the far end of the place.

However, there was something on the wall closest to the podium, and when Gero got a look at it, he gasped in shock. A large glass container hung in the middle of the wall, a bluish, possible tealish, liquid being held in it. And within that liquid was a human brain; an oversized human brain.

"What is that?!" Gero cried out.

The sound of Coten's laughter echoed throughout the room. "That is the brilliant Dr. Wheelo!"

"That can't be Wheelo!" the android shouted. "His brain, most definitely, but not him personally! So where's the rest of him?!"

The deep voice once again rang out, sounding amused. "A brain I most definitely am, Former Twentieth Chair. Unfortunately, an accident in a mountain range ruined my body, so that is why I am the way you see before you."

"And though his body was destroyed," Coten added, "his genius was able to construct this containment facility, allowing him the ability to survive."

Not at all perturb by the display of admiration, Wheelo continued "And if I'm not mistaken, it was the same process that has allowed you to exist as of now."

Gero's hands immediately went to his skull. So that's how he was able to be here. This Dr. Wheelo had developed a medical technique that salvaged the brain and put it into a different receptacle. Perhaps this man was smart.

Yet there was a nagging thought in his head. If this man had allowed him to regain his body, albeit an artificial one; than how was it that Wheelo wasn't in one himself?

"Interesting, truly," the government chair commended. "But I must know why that I'm in a body similar to my previous one and you are not?"

A silence fell upon the two. Coten was the one to break it later, though a bit embarrassed. "Well, the design for such a body wasn't in our possession until recent. We also didn't know if we could try a transfer from Dr. Wheelo's current position into an artificial body successfully. That's why you're here now."

Gero's eyes narrowed once more. So he was merely a guinea pig at the moment. But if the analysis his body's computer was correct, his android body was that of a design he had created.

"So tell me, how was it you were able to come across a blueprint design of the body I now inhabit?" Surely you didn't come up with it."

Before Coten could lash out against the claim, Wheelo stepped in. "You're very perceptive Former Twentieth Chair; the body design is one you created. As Coten mentioned previously, one was brought to our possession. Seems a member of your government didn't have much trust in you."

Gero felt cold. "What was his name?"

Coten answered this time. "A Jericho Sedici."

"Jericho!" Gero cried out. "So that's how he did it; that traitor."

"What is this?" Coten asked, curious. "You ran into the body I made for him?"

Clinching his fists in anger, the old man replied "Yes, I did. I had the man killed before the saiyan attack on Earth. I'm assuming he had you create a body for him in the off chance that I did so. He appeared right before a saiyan blew me apart."

"That explains some things," the scientist murmured. "I was curious why he wanted that body made. Obviously in the off chance that he was killed so that he could exact revenge. I had only taken him as an oversized dimwit."

"Well then, it seems we have a common interest Gero," Wheelo said. "We both want to bring the Earth back to its glory, not to mention knowing who helped bring it to its current predicament. Let's join forces to undo that man's efforts."

"And how do you propose we do this?" the government official questioned.

"By rewriting time of course," the brain answered. "And I know exactly how to do it."

The idea itself was ludicrous, at least to Gero. Rewrite time? Absurd. No one held the power to do that.

Skeptically, the man asked "And if I were to agree to this, would it be me doing all the labor?"

"Oh no, my friend. You're not the only one I've had my assistant bring back. Bring them out Coten."

"Yes sir," the old man replied before pressing a hidden button on his cane.

Somewhere to Gero's left, a few doors opened. Shortly after that, three people walked through the openings and approached him, stopping when he could see them better.

On the far right, a green insect-like man stood. Black spots covered every green part of him as a white face with purple markings on it and pink eyes looked back at him. A purplish pair of insect wings hung from his back.

In the center was a very tall man with long black hair and piercing blue eyes. Blue jeans covered his lower half as a skin tight, sleeveless wool shirt with brown straps covering his top. Arm coverings with gloves attached covered his arms and reached the top of his biceps; a familiar orange bandana tied around his neck as well.

Finally, the far left of them was a very large, very bulky blue man with spiky orange hair. White plates covered his pecs and abs, green pants covering his legs as well as brown gloves on his hands.

A very unusual group Gero noted.

"I hope you enjoy your reunion," Wheelo spoke up. "Please be reacquainted with Tretton Gero, Angie Zeventien, and Cell, Android Twenty One."

* * *

Two weeks had gone by since they had discovered their planet's remains. Two weeks of mourning and uselessness that no one of their group had felt, nor liked. But there wasn't much any of them could do.

With Gohan locking himself in his room, Goten and Trunks were effectively left in charge. After pondering their next course of action for awhile, the two decided to go stay at a friend's place until they could figure out their next move.

And who was Bibidi to say no?

After spending a very uneventful week traveling in space, the group of saiyans and humans arrived at the desert-like planet of Majiventa. Suppressing a memorable line of thought, especially after catch sight of some wreckage floating by, Trunks and Goten flew their ship through the atmosphere and landed safely a small distance from Bibidi's house.

At least that was one thing different than all their other experiences with landing ships.

The reunion with the Majin wizard was nearly what they had expected; one full of reluctance on the part of the small alien. Though they'd admit later that the first things they said to him were along the lines of staying at his place for an indefinite length of time, at least he warmed up to them when they informed him of their homelessness. He was even hospitable to their human counterparts, though he seemed a bit wary of Sixteen.

Unfortunately, the conditions that reigned on their ship continued in Bibidi's house as well. Gohan had elected to stay in his room with little contact outside of Videl and that left the younger saiyans in charge for the time being.

Fortunately, though, their idol had come out of his room at week's end and the first thing he wanted to do was to talk to Bibidi.

Things were looking up even more now.

"Alright Bibidi, tell me how we can go about getting a new home," the saiyan inquired.

"Well, I was starting to wonder when you'd get into that frame of mind," Bibidi replied.

Gohan gave him a look. "Are you going to help or just make snide remarks?"

"While the snide remarks are a tempting choice, I think I'll help you out. That way you won't be complaining about being stuck here again."

"I had a valid reason that time and you know it."

"Ahh, can we just get on with this? Trunks interrupted. "You two can banter later."

"Well, I guess we can work on finding you a home huh?" Bibidi said, a thoughtful look on his face. "Okay, what kind of place are you looking for? I know a few good places that aren't that far away."

"Ehh, you mean on this planet?" Gohan asked.

"Uhh, yes? What else were you expecting?"

"Well, I was thinking about a habitable planet if you can think of any."

"And by habitable you mean something similar to your previous home?"

"Yep."

A sad look came across the wizard's face. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you there. There are only so many planet's similar to what you seek, yet none of them would be a good choice."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Goten asked.

"Many if not most of the planets have life that you wouldn't call friendly. You'd be living the rest of your days in constant battle, struggling to survive. After everything you've gone through, I couldn't consciously send you to any of them and hope you'll find some sort of peace there. About the only planet that could be of any use would be Earth but you'll find no friends there. I'm sorry."

That little speech put a damper on the saiyans, especially Trunks and Goten. Finally, after all the time the older saiyan had spent locked up, it was quite possible that he would do the same again. That was a sight neither wanted to see happen again.

"Isn't there something else? Anything that you could be forgetting?" Trunks nearly begged the wizard; anything to prevent that melancholy from returning.

"Yeah, even you could've made a mistake," Goten added.

"I'm sorry boys, I truly am," Bibidi said with resignation. "If there was something I could do to help, I would do it in a heartbeat."

With that, the younger saiyans gave in to hopelessness. It was practically inevitable now.

Yet, the warrior surprised them by saying "So there's no way we can get the world we want?"

The small Majin stared into space for a little bit. "Well, there's one," he mumbled.

All the saiyans acted as if they had been shocked by electricity. A ray of hope seemed to shine from their eyes. "Can you tell us what that would be?" Goten asked excitedly.

That shook Bibidi from his thoughts. "Tell you what? What did I say?"

"You said there could be a way for us to get the world we wanted," Trunks answered. "And we want to know what it is."

Bibidi's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. "No, you don't mean…you can't! You can't reasonably want to do that!"

"And what is it you're talking about?" Trunks pressed. "We can't tell you what we'll do unless you tell us what you're talking about."

The wizard gave him a glare. "By all rights, I shouldn't even discuss it with you. I've said too much already."

"But you haven't even told us what it is yet," Goten countered.

"And for good reason! If I were to tell you, you'd do it in a heartbeat!"

"How can you say that to us when you've known us for so long?" Gohan said. "As a friend, you have to tell us. We'd tell you if you were in our shoes."

That seemed to seal their case. A look of helplessness appeared on the wizard's face before he divulged his thoughts. "There's…there's a relic if you can call it that. It was created by a civilization long extinct. What they were trying to prove with this relic is beyond me and most people familiar with it. Anyways, this relic has the power to send people back into time, to a point that they desire above all others."

"So we could use this thing and go back in time to keep Vegeta from blowing up?" Gohan questioned.

"Provided you know what caused it and how to stop it, yes. But if Vegeta was meant to blow up, then you'd only be caught in a vicious cycle of trying to stop a natural event."

"Well, we have to try, don't we?"

Bibidi sighed. "How did I know you'd want to try it?"

"Wouldn't you?"

That caused the wizard to smile. "Yes I suppose I would."

Gohan smiled back. "Alright then, tell us what we need to know about this thing. Every single detail."

This time, however, the wizard didn't reply, at least with words. Instead he stood up and left the room, leaving the saiyans wondering what the little Majin was up to. The answer to that question came soon as the little alien returned, holding a small stone artifact. From what the oldest saiyan could see, it was a large pipe, hollow at its center, and various markings covering the surface of it. "According to my studies on the 'Time Milieu' relic, five 'keys' are need to reach and activate it. After much searching in my youthful days, I discovered that the keys are of similar mold to this; in fact, this is one of the keys."

"You mean we just have to find four more of these things and we can bring Vegeta back?" Trunks asked.

"More or less."

"Bibidi, there aren't enough words I can use to describe my thanks for this," Gohan said.

"Please don't. Time should _never_, under any circumstance, be manipulated. I've essentially given you a way to wipe out everyone from existence."

That stopped the saiyan from saying anything further. The weight of what they were about to do had finally fallen upon their shoulders. They were about to erase everything that had just happened, effectively killing whole races of people. Could they go out and truly condemn them to nonexistence?

They had to, there was no other choice. If they had a chance at living the rest of their lives without pain and suffering, they were gonna take it.

As they said, they had no other choice.

* * *

To DJ: You've been following that long? Wow, thanks. This whole is my brain child and I'm quite proud of it, so thanks for the complement. And you're starting to get on my case about errors too. Glad to have that in some form or fashion. Thanks again.


	3. The Tease

The land was barren, rocky even. No form of green life to be found, though this planet hadn't been meant to support that kind of life. The Empire had meant it only to be a base of operations and nothing more.

Just the thing to attract a super powered monster.

Three soldiers stood close to the edge of a cliff, looking out across a land devastated by craters and green flames that sent clouds of smoke up into the air. At one time, each of them had believed being part of the Armored Squadron was an honor most fighters would never achieve; now it was a nuisance that would get them killed.

One of the three, a gangly brown creature suddenly called out "Do you see it anywhere?"

Another one, a bulky green alien with long shaggy hair answered "Nothing, I see nothing."

"Keep searching," a blue alien with blond hair replied. This whole expedition, it was a mistake, at least that what he, Salza, believed. This was a mission for lower leveled soldiers and not Lord Cooler's elites.

But that had been the reasoning for them to be sent here. All the low level grunts that had been sent out had been destroyed. Rumors spread throughout the army that a demon or monster was killing them off. Sometimes it would only kill a few people and made sport of the others; other times it would kill everyone without a second glance. But the way this demon thought was the only thing that differed with him; all the descriptions were the same no matter who you questioned.

A very large, very bulky humanoid was behind the seemingly senseless destruction. It wore nothing but white pants, golden boots, and a red piece of cloth tied at his waist. Blond spiky hair sat atop his head, yet all these descriptions spoke of fright at his pure white eyes. Not a single survivor spoke of the thing having pupils of any kind.

And that was why the rumors persisted amongst the ranks. That was why it was even suggested that the Armored Squadron should be sent out to deal with this demon. That was why Salza and his men found themselves in this desolate place.

Damn those pathetic cowards.

Each man wore the same armor, a unique one to establish themselves as elites. A light green armor with a single shoulder guard covering their left shoulder and the mark of the Armor Squadron covered their torsos and a light purple spandex covering the rest of their bodies, along with white gloves and boots. It was truly a work of art in their eyes.

Each man wore their colors proudly. Neiz, the gangly brown alien held very unique powers dealing with the flexibility of his body. Doore, the bulky green one, was very efficient in killing his opponents. Though Salza believed he could match the man kill for kill, he did bow down to the man's constant efforts.

"Where is this thing?" Salza said aloud in a suave accent. "There are only so many places it could hide and we've checked them all."

"And what could you possibly be looking for?" a deep voice asked.

All three fighters spun around and fell into defensive stances, staring at the monster they had long sought. "Looks like it finally came out of hiding," Doore commented.

"And who ever said I was hiding?" the monster said. "I've been here the whole time, watching you complaining."

Salza's eyes widen. Slowly he moved a hand to the scouter on the side of his head and activated it. Soon, numbers appeared on the green screen, increasing higher and higher as the computer calculated. "How…how did the scouters miss something with this much power?"

"You worms," the monster said, "rely too much on those machines of yours. I've been able to mask my power the whole time. If it wasn't for the fact that you and those other weaklings made dying so much fun to watch, I would've killed this planet off long ago."

A stunned silence fell over the Armored Squadron. This wasn't a monster they were hunting, not at all; it…he had to be the Devil himself.

Carrying on, this devil said "Though to be honest, the entertainment value here is starting to bore me. Oh, what is a poor little saiyan to do now?"

"A saiyan?!" Neiz shouted. "There's no way you're a saiyan! No monkey can have as high a power level!"

That was when the saiyan frowned. "I've been hearing that a lot lately and quite frankly, I'm becoming sick of it. First it was these 'most powerful fighters in the universe' guys, then all of those grunts of yours, and now you. I'll just have to prove to you that a saiyan does have the power to blow you into the seventh level of Hell."

It was quick, very quick to Salza's eye. In less than a second, the saiyan had raised one of his gigantic arms and fired a green ball of energy at Neiz's head, intending to blast it off. Luckily for Neiz though, he was able to duck his head below the blast, his neck and skull disappearing into his body. Once the attack had flown by, the brown alien had extended his neck and head back out as if nothing had happened.

Unfortunately though, both Salza and Doore had taken their eyes off the monster to watch Neiz's trick. When they returned their gazes to him, it was as if he had vanished; definitely not good for their survival.

"Where is he?!" Doore shouted as he jerked his head around to find the saiyan, the other two copying his actions.

Almost as if on cue, the ground beneath their feet began to glow a bright green before it was torn apart by an explosion.

Luckily for the Armored Squadron, they had acted quickly to avoid the blast, using bursts of speed to disappear and reappear high in the air, looking down on the destruction below. Soon enough, they spotted the saiyan burst from the green flames and fly right at them, laughing manically.

"He's mine!" Doore announced as he charged at the monster.

"Doore! Stop!" Salza shouted after him, but his warning fell on deaf ears. With a punch readied, the green alien threw the attack, landing the blow right on the saiyan's face.

Now, normally such a hit would've knocked an opponent senseless. This time though, their foe was definitely not normal as he took the punch in stride, an evil smile clearly marking his face. With his own fist wound, the saiyan slammed it right into Doore's gut, causing the fighter to lose his breath as he bent over the balled hand.

With a speed that Salza hadn't seen in years, the saiyan slammed several punches into his comrade's midsection, each one devastating the green fighter as he became nothing more than a helpless punching bag.

The slugfest came to an end sooner than the blue alien would've predicted as the saiyan stopped punching and held one of his hands sideways in front of Doore. "Say hello to your king for me," he said before he released a rush of energy that consumed the green alien on the spot. His scream was the last thing Salza heard of him.

Yet, the comment that saiyan said, it struck at his center. Had this guy actually met the late King Cold? How and when? This guy knew him, that was for certain.

Once the energy died down, the saiyan turned his attention to the remaining Armored Squadron. "So which one of you would like to take me on? I promise you your death will be quick, though I can't say the same thing about it being painless."

"Why you—" Neiz started before Salza interrupted him. "Saiyan, you mentioned something about our King. Did you know him?"

"Know him? I was the one that killed him, along with his son."

The whole world seemed to become colder. This…this guy was responsible for not only King Cold's death but of Lord Frieza's too? It seemed all too impossible…but yet, it was the only explanation, at least for now.

"He…he's lying," Neiz stuttered. "They're too powerful to be killed."

"Why would he lie?" Salza countered. "How many people do you know could practically destroy the Cold Empire in one fail swoop? Not even Lord Cooler could do something like that."

"Listen to yourself!" the brown alien shouted. "You've practically admitted that this guy is gonna kill us! We're the elite of the elite! There's no one in the universe that can beat us! I'll prove it!"

With that said, Neiz launched himself at the saiyan, fully intent on proving himself right much to Salza's dismay. As the brown fighter neared the bulky saiyan, he charged his body with energy, creating a visible form of electricity that danced across his body.

Coming to a stop within arms length of the large saiyan, Neiz shot his arms out, touching his opponent's chest with his hands. Immediately the electricity covering his body shot out onto the monster, sending shocks throughout his body. Ha! This guy wouldn't survive an attack like that!

That line of thinking proved to be faulty as the saiyan suddenly moved one of his arms out and with his hand, grabbed the brown alien by his narrow neck. Completely caught by surprise, Neiz's attack fell apart, the electricity dying off. The clenching of the large hand began to restrict the airflow in his body, causing the alien to start gagging.

"Let's see how well your head moves when I have my hand around your scrawny neck," the saiyan said as he brought his other hand up, an orb of energy forming in his hand. With a quick jerk of his hand, the orb of energy was pressed into Neiz's face, consuming the alien's face and soon after his whole head; all the while, the brown alien's arms and legs convulsed, trying to break the hold around his neck.

And as sudden as it started, the body fell limp. Pulling his energy holding hand, Neiz's head had been effectively destroyed; no trace of it left except the smoldering remains of his neck.

Releasing the grip of his other hand, the brown alien's body fell to the ground far below them. With fear in his eyes, Salza could only swallow the saliva in mouth, making a gulping sound.

Without a doubt, his death would be coming shortly.

* * *

"Did you hear that?!" the small red wizard cried out, fear laced in his voice.

"Yes I heard it," a tall purple and white alien answered, annoyance in his voice. What his father saw in his man, he didn't know; the wizard was always panicking at a moment's notice.

Sitting on a makeshift thrown inside a large tent, the alien listened to the scouter transmission his elite fighting force sent back with his father's most trusted adviser, the wizard Hoi.

In truth, the one known as Cooler could've cared less about who had killed his father and brother. If anything, this saiyan, or so he claimed, had done him a favor. For quite some time, the eldest child of the Cold Emperor had been plotting the demise of those two, effectively removing them from his quest for the throne. Stupid he was not since he knew his younger brother, Frieza, would occupy the throne once Cold had stepped down or died.

Perhaps he could give this guy a medal or something.

Unfortunately, he figured this monster of a saiyan wouldn't accept the award. He was too consumed with killing and destroying that Cooler knew that if he didn't somehow kill him, that monkey would do him in too.

"I don't think you did Cooler," the wizard replied to him. "This guy admitted to killing your King and brother."

"That's King Cooler, Hoi," the alien growled dangerously. "And if you're so worried about this guy, why don't you give me some intelligence on him. Maybe then I'll save your sorry butt from him."

Hoi glared at him. "Don't you speak to me in that manner Cooler. I was King Cold's highest advisor and I wield more power than you could possible imagine."

"I'll speak to you in any way I want," Cooler retorted. "One, my father is dead, so any status he gave you is about as valid as beetle dung; two, I could kill you much faster than any 'magic' you could conjure up. You're at my mercy Hoi and don't forget it."

As much as the wizard didn't like this man, he had to admit that he was right. Of all of King Cold's brood, Cooler's techniques were quick and efficient, more so than even Frieza's. The eldest Cold didn't care much for showy explosions as much as he liked efficiency.

"Now that you understand your place Hoi, make yourself useful and tell me something about this saiyan."

Grudgingly, the wizard gave in. "From what I can gather, this saiyan's name is Broly. As much as the grunts and elites deny the fact that he is saiyan, he is very much apart of that race. Somehow, someway, when your father and brother attacked Planet Vegeta, they awoken him and he's been destroying the universe ever since."

"And that helps me how?" the alien questioned. "I didn't ask for his life's story, I asked for something that could give me an advantage in battle."

"You should've said that in the first place," Hoi muttered to himself. Closing his eyes, he used a probing spell, one he had proudly invented himself, and investigated the saiyan. "As far as I can tell, his physical strengths are out-of-this-world. Most attacks against him have been proven to be useless. His energy usage is similar. His fighting style is one I don't recog—"

"That's enough," Cooler interrupted. "None of what you've told me is of any use aside from this saiyan's physical strength. What ever magic you're using is clearly worthless."

"_How dare you?!_" Hoi screamed. "How dare you treat me this way?! I helped your father achieve greatness, allowing you to enjoy his spoils! If it wasn't for me, you'd be rotting on that poor excuse of a planet that I found you on!"

The Cold heir merely rolled his eyes in annoyance. He had heard this rant one too many times in his life, but fortunately, when he finished taking care of this saiyan menace, he'd have this royal pain-in-the-ass taken care of. In the meantime though…

"Fine, then tell me where this 'Broly' is," the alien said.

Hoi sent him a heated glare before focusing on the saiyan's whereabouts. "He's approximately fifty…feet…away…" As he said this, a look of horror crawled upon his wrinkled face.

Cooler had his eyes wide open. Was that report correct? He hardly believed his ears, but then, after hearing his Armored Squadron being slaughtered on the scouter transmission, it was quite realistic. Standing onto his feet, the alien moved to the opening of the tent, moving the tent flap out of his way.

Not ten feet away, he found the broken body of Salza, the leader of his Armored Squadron. "My King," the elite spoke as he gasped for air. "Flee! Flee before that monster gets—"

And those were the last words the man spoke as a boot came crashing down on the back of his skull, forcing his face into the ground, a pool of blood beginning to seep out around his head.

There, standing over the recently dead body of Salza, was Broly.

"Well if it isn't the saiyan I've heard so much about," Cooler commented coolly as he gave the saiyan the once over. "And I must say I am impressed."

A smirk grew on the saiyan's face in response.

"Yet, you are only a monkey, so you had a wide strike zone for improvement."

The smirk didn't disappear as the pupil-less eyes of the giant gazed at him.

"But before things become unpleasant, allow me to thank you. You've saved me the time and a very bloody mess in taking out my father and brother."

That seemed to catch the saiyan's attention as his smirk fell. "So you're related to those weaklings."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Well then, I hope you put up a better fight than they did, not that it'll matter. You can struggle all you want, but in the end, you'll still die."

The Cold heir narrowed his eyes. "I beg your pardon?"

An evil smile appeared on giant's face. "You heard me."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew over the two, causing them to look towards the tent. Finding a jet stream, they both discovered that Hoi had lost his nerve and had taken to the air, running for his life.

"That coward," Cooler said.

"I take it you're not too fond of him," Broly replied.

"No, not really."

"If you'd excuse me then."

Curious, Cooler turned his gaze back to the bulky saiyan and found him gathering a ball of energy in his left hand. Shifting into a stance, Broly then threw the orb as he shouted "Eraser Cannon!"

Instantly, the ball of energy was hot on Hoi's heels. The wizard didn't stand much of a chance of escaping the attack as he looked behind him and screamed, a large explosion consuming him.

Staring at the fireworks, Cooler could help but feel a bit of enjoyment from the cloud of green flames in midair. Though he rather had killed the little pest himself, at least he went down screaming.

"That's another thing I'm in debt to you," the alien spoke as he looked back at Broly. "Tell you what, why don't you join forces with me? The universe would be at our beck and call. We would be like Gods!"

"Tempting," Broly answered. "But I don't find as much fun in controlling people as much as blowing them to smithereens."

"You won't reconsider my offer then?"

"No."

"Pity," Cooler spoke before his eyes widen to an unusual size. Suddenly, a pair of beams fired from the alien's eyes, impacting the saiyan in his chest and detonating.

As smoke and flames covered the giant's location, the purple alien said "It truly is a pity he wouldn't join me. Things would be very interesting then."

"If you mean the struggle for your life, then yes, it will be."

Shock overtook Cooler as he looked back at the smoke. Soon, the gas dissipated to reveal Broly no worse for wear and that evil smile back on his face.

* * *

To DJ: I suppose you could say I have a "dragonball" effect planned, but it's completely different from those magical balls. I've still got time to figure out how I'll make the Time Milieu look but I won't worry too much about it now. There's some loose ends I need to tie up, namely anything left from Battle Stain and Breaking Grace. Glad this storyline has been worth the read.


	4. Beg

And here is the first big battle of this fic. Though lopsided since it does have Broly in it, I think it came out alright. Enjoy

* * *

A war cry rang from Broly's lips as he charged Cooler, throwing a punch at the purple lizard. Reacting, Cooler leapt into the air to dodge the punch, raising one of his legs up into the air. Then with a descending swing, he slammed his leg right on the saiyan's shoulder, causing a slight flinch.

Not bothering to take notice of his opponent's reaction, Cooler then flipped in midair and landed on his feet, his knees bent noticeably. Then pushing off the ground, the purple alien threw his own fist at the saiyan, nailing him on his chin and causing the giant's head to jerk back.

With a smirk on his face, Cooler was beginning to doubt all the claims that this monkey was invulnerable to physical attack when he finally took notice of Broly. Instead of wincing in pain or showing any other signs of damage, there was a smirk firmly planted on the saiyan's face, almost as if he had enjoyed that engagement.

Baring his teeth, the alien leapt back from his opponent, putting distance between the two. Thrusting his arms above his head, a large orb of energy appeared between his hands.

"Try this on for size!" Cooler yelled as he swung his arms down, firing the blast at Broly. Without the least bit of fear, the saiyan moved towards the attack, taking it head on as it detonated on him.

Not holding back, the lizard charged up another large ball of energy and fired it just as quickly, the blast impacting Broly as he appeared from the smoke of the last explosion.

And much to Cooler's dismay, the saiyan emerged unscathed once more and still showing the same evil smile. The next thing the alien knew, a very bulky arm had rammed right into him, easily picking him off the ground he stood on.

With a swing of his arm, Broly sent his purple opponent flying through the air, flipping out of control. Immediately, the saiyan powered up a green ball of ki in his hand and launched the attack at Cooler; the green orb colliding on the alien's back.

Cooler let out a yelp of pain as the attack exploded on his back, burning him badly. After the blast, the alien crashed into the ground and skidded until he came to a stop.

Getting back on his feet, the lizard growled deeply. Now he could see why the rest of his family was dead; this guy was a juggernaut, indestructible and unstoppable. But he wouldn't give in like they did; he would defeat this man and cast him into the depths of Hell.

But right now, he needed a better place to fight. Right now he was at a disadvantage, at least in the open. A place with some rocky edifices would be very desirable.

"Alright monkey, let's see how fast you are!" Cooler shouted as he flared his aura and took off high into the air, heading towards the horizon.

Watching his fleeing opponent, a stern look crossed over Broly's face. If that guy thought he could escape then he was sorely mistaken. Baring his malicious smile once more, the saiyan would make sure that mistake was realized.

Launching off the ground, the bulky saiyan gave chase, a wave of exhilaration welling up within him. There was nothing more exhilarating than hunting down one's pray in the middle of combat.

That line of thinking didn't last as Broly soon grew bored of it. Up in front of him, Cooler kept his current pace, almost as if he was looking for something. Well, whatever it was would have to wait; Broly's patience was all but spent and he was ready to relieve himself of his boredom.

The surrounding area soon began taking on a greenish tint, a prelude to the saiyan's upcoming attack. With a bit of focus, the green was pulled in around the legendary saiyan, forming a light green bubble around him.

Altering his course, Broly headed higher into the air until he reached an altitude he was comfortable with. With a loud cry, the green bubble around him filled up with bright green energy, masking his large form within it. Barely a moment passed when a barrage of green ki balls went flying aimlessly in all directions; their courses so random no one could possible predict where they would land.

And when they impacted the ground, great explosions erupted, destroying anything that was unfortunate to get caught up in the blast.

For Cooler, his once calm flight had become much more difficult as he found himself weaving his way around errant ki balls and explosions that cropped up unexpectedly. This would only serve to piss the alien off more than he already was. He was gonna make sure this oversized monkey was six feet under when he was done with him.

How he would do that though, would have to be put on hold. As unforeseen as the ki ball barrage had been, the sudden maniacal laughter of the monkey in question rang out and much closer than the purple lizard had thought he would be.

Flying mere feet off the rocky earth, the alien turned his head to look over his shoulder, catching sight of the saiyan closing in on him fast and with another green shield around him. Why he would need one was beyond the Cold heir; he was practically invulnerable as it was.

However, the true intention of the shield wasn't what Cooler had thought it would do. The moment Broly came close to the ground below them, the shield destabilized, sending the flames of an explosion all over the place.

The next thing Cooler knew, he was tumbling through the air, smoke pouring off his body. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the resulting blast that had been caused by his opponent's attack.

That one glance told the fighter two things: one, he was out of the blast and not receiving any more damage from it; and two, the explosion was big.

Very, _very_ big.

A moment later, Cooler crashed into the ground, ceasing his midair tumble. Slowly pushing himself up, he got back to his feet and stared at the dying detonation.

He had been a fool. What had he been thinking? Taking on such a brute force and expecting to come out no worse for wear was foolhardy, if not stupid. He should've known better. It didn't help him to think that was what his father and brother thought they could do.

The results of that kind of thinking were quite obvious.

Taking a look around, Cooler soon found he had arrived at a place similar to what he had been looking for. Tall rocky edifices stood all around, growing out of the rocky ground they stood upon. He wouldn't go as far as to say it was perfect but it definitely was ideal.

"It's about time you stopped running. I was starting to get bored."

The deep voice of Broly jerked Cooler back to his situation. Before him, he could see the large saiyan walking towards him, looking imposing. He was just gonna have to change that.

"Don't think I'll go down as easily as my brother and father did," Cooler retorted. "They were both fools and died because of it."

That caused Broly to smirk as he stopped his march a short distance away. "And what makes you not a fool?"

This time, it was Cooler who smirked. "Because, unlike them, I have discovered a transformation beyond their limits."

That didn't phase the saiyan. "I've already told you, you can struggle all you want, your fate will stay the same."

"I think not monkey. Once I've reached my full power, there won't be anything you can do against me."

"Then transform. It should liven my boredom."

"Oh, it'll do more than that my friend. Much more."

And that was all Cooler said as he braced his body. It was gonna take a little time, but with the at ease stance of his opponent, he would have all the time in world. Gradually he could feel his power rising as his transformation began.

The first thing to happen was his eyes; a bright red light glowing from them. Following that, his body started to grow, becoming bulkier as well as taller. Over his shoulders, the white chest plate of his anatomy extended off his body, forming a sort of hoop between his shoulder and chest plate.

Yet it was his head that took on the most noticeable change. Four horns sprung right out of his head; two from the sides and two diagonally from the top of his head. After that, small bone-like structures grew from the sides of his face, crossing in front of his mouth and digging into the opposite side of his face. It was like it was forming a mask on the lower half of his face. The affect of it though, darkened the upper half of his face, allowing his glowing red eyes to appear from the darkness.

All the while, Broly watched it. When the time came that he felt the show was over, he spoke "So this is your new form huh?"

In response, a deep, haunting voiced answered him. "You are correct." A chuckle followed before he added "Witness my ultimate power monkey! Your death has been assured!"

"Sorry, but I plan on living for awhile. Care to make an appointment later?"

His red eyes narrowed. "Go on, laugh yourself to your satisfaction. They'll be your last in this dimension."

"Maybe if you decided to fight instead of talking, maybe I would take you up on your offer," the saiyan countered.

That last taunt sent the alien on the war path. With his greatly increased speed, he disappeared from sight, reappearing in midair as he slammed his foot into the giant's head, causing it to snap to a side.

Using his momentum, Cooler moved through the air until he was behind the hulk, landing on the ground with his back to his opponent. With his tail, he lashed it out from behind him, the appendage sweeping Broly's legs out from under him, causing him to fall towards the ground.

Before he could land on it though, Cooler had swung his body around and grabbed the saiyan by his shoulders. Twisting his body, he threw his foe high into the air and watched as he flipped around uncontrollably.

Using his speed once more, he was suddenly within spitting distance of the saiyan, slamming his knee into Broly's stomach and stopping his wild flight, the hulk bending over the appendage. Crossing his arm over his chest, Cooler than swung it back, backhanding the saiyan and sending him flying towards a mountain. Giving chase, the purple fighter planted his foot right on Broly's chest, just as the saiyan hit the oversized rock; imbedding his body into it.

Pushing off, Cooler drifted away from the unmoving body of his latest victim. Slowly, he landed on the ground a short distance from the mountain Broly laid on.

That monkey…pitiful. He did all that boasting and for what? To be easily crushed by Cooler's ultimate might. He had warned him, hadn't he? He warned him that he would crush him in an instant, though he hadn't used that many words. That's what that filthy monkey got for not reading in between the lines.

A slight movement caught his eye then, followed by the sound of a rock clattering as it fell down the rocky edifice. Soon, Broly was back on his feet and looking no worse for wear, though there was a small smile on his face.

A smile that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

"I hope that wasn't your best shot," the saiyan called out. "Otherwise, you'll end up just like your family; begging for your worthless life."

Rage consumed Cooler as his energy spiked. Raising a hand up with the index finger pointing, he shouted "Death Beam!" In response, a small purple beam shot from his finger tip, racing at high speeds to destroy its target. Once contact was made with the saiyan, a large explosion occurred, destroying the mountain.

However, before Cooler could settle down, Broly exploded from the flames, charging like a bull and slamming his large fist into the alien's face.

The force of the blow completely overwhelmed the purple fighter as he went careening into a nearby mountain. Not done with him, the Legendary Super Saiyan rushed after him and went head first into Cooler's crash site, dust being kicked up in the aftermath.

On the other side of the towering rock, two figures burst out of it. Running, Broly held both of his arms out at shoulder height; one of them carrying Cooler off the ground. Continuing his course, the saiyan plowed into an unfortunate mountain that was in his path. A reoccurrence of the previous mountain happened as Broly broke through the tall rock from one side to the other, leaving this one to crumbled behind him.

The same action occurred once again as the hulk ran into yet another mountain, tearing right through it. However, once he busted through the other side he swung the arm carrying Cooler in front of him, sending the alien flying into the next mountain.

Pulling the same arm back, he continued his crash course until he was a couple yards away from his opponent. At that point, he threw his cocked back arm, slamming a fist right into Cooler's unguarded midsection, creating a small crater around the fighter as his body was forcefully rammed into the rock. A cross between a cough and gag left the alien's covered mouth, his red eyes wide open with pain.

"I'm disappointed in you," Broly taunted then. "I suppose trash is exactly that; trash."

Almost as if a switch had been flipped, fury filled the alien's eyes. With a loud cry, an eruption of purple energy was released from his body, causing a huge explosion that covered a large area.

Once the flames had extended to their full range, Cooler shot out of the top of the explosion, a purple aura surrounding him as he flew high into the air.

This was it, he had had it! That monkey had mocked him one too many times and now the planet would suffer the consequences! He'd blow the whole thing up and be done with it all! Not even this flea bag could survive that kind of blast!

However, due to his mind being distracted, not to mention keeping his attention down at the dying explosion, he never expected to run right into the so-called flea bag. As he turned his head to look in front of him, he was completely surprised to see Broly hovering in midair with both of his hands clasped over his head. With a mighty swing, the saiyan landed a jackhammer blow to the alien's head, sending him crashing into the smoke covered area of the now dead explosion; a fresh cloud of smoke and dust flying up from the landing zone.

Coughing, Cooler managed to get onto his hands and knees, trying to recover from that last strike. How…how had things gotten to this point? He was not only being outclassed by a low leveled monkey, but being annihilated like a bug going up against a bug zapper. There couldn't be any greater insult than that.

And that insult wouldn't go without reprisal.

The sound of boots landing on the ground alerted the alien to his opposite's presence. Looking up, his hate-filled eyes fell upon the giant.

"So, is there anything else you want to do trash? It's getting to that time where I toss you into the scrap heap with all my other broken toys."

It took all of the purple alien's will to suppress his anger, even going as far as to clench his fingers so tightly that blood began to trickle in between the digits. Slowly, he raised himself to his feet, deciding his next move instantly.

Drifting off the ground and into the air, Cooler began gathering his energy. All the while, Broly watched him with a smirk on his face. The confidence radiating off the saiyan's body was unquestionable, even from the growing distance the tyrant was putting in between them.

Raising one of his hands over his head and extending a finger, Cooler then focused his energy and pushed out of his body, allowing it to form into a very large, bright yellow ball of ki. "This is the end of you monkey," the alien coolly announced to his opponent. "No one has survived my Supernova technique, including a solar system. Your fate will be decided in the blast; one of death and darkness."

There was no reply from the smiling saiyan.

"Now be a good monkey and die!" Cooler shouted as he launched his attack, the large yellow ball flying fast at its target.

Unfazed by the large ki ball of destruction, Broly floated off the ground and held one hand up, catching the ball with ease.

"No one's survived this attack huh?" the giant saiyan questioned, holding the halted attack. "Let's put that claim to the test, shall we?"

Cooler couldn't reply. To say he was stunned by the fact his ultimate attack had been so easily stopped was an understatement. A foreign feeling of doubt and despair began to well up within the Cold heir. Was this what hopelessness felt like?

In the meantime, a malicious smile worked its way onto Broly's face. A second later a green light shown in the space between his hand and the side of the golden energy ball. And with that, Cooler's Supernova was flying right back at him, ramming right into his body and pushing him high into the air.

"There he goes," the Super Saiyan commented before letting a green orb of ki appeared in his still raised hand. "And now he dies."

On cue, the green ball of ki shot from the palm it sat on, racing along a curved flight plan as it headed towards the large golden attack. The moment the two different sized ki orbs made contact, a huge explosion that ignited the sky erupted, expanding until it touched the ground far below. If one were to be watching from space, they would've seen it as plainly as if they had been standing by it.

For what felt like an eternity, the ball of flames burned brightly. But like all things, it came to an end, leaving a mile wide crater in its wake; bellows of smoke rising from the hole.

And the only thing left standing to even witness the sight was the saiyan juggernaut Broly.


	5. Sirens

Well, this was a crazy few days. As many of you are well aware of, ffn had a few problems with the log-in system, so many updates have been pushed back. At least it's over now.

And now GohanVidel week is over and I have to say it was a very nice experience. Now that its over, I'll have more time to devote to this masterpiece of mine. Hopefully I'll be posting more often with this; as long as school doesn't distract me. A cruel mistress, school is.

And for those of you who read Unfriendly Competition, that'll be posted this Friday, so just wait a couple more days.

* * *

Well this was new. Who'd of thought that the first leg of their latest adventure would be so uneventful? There wasn't even a space pirate attack to make things interesting!

Talk about boredom.

Leaning back in his seat in the control room, Goten stifled a yawn. Although he was glad that their current journey didn't have any of those unwanted "guests" that their previous endeavors had, it still didn't get rid of the laziness that fell upon such times. Hell, if they had actually been on a planet with day and night differential, he would've been sleeping way past noon; a luxury the saiyan warrior had never had.

At first, it had been welcomed, like any teenager his age would've done. But due to his saiyan upbringing; and one that was a bit extreme, even for his race; this tedious time of uselessness was making him antsy. He needed to do something, anything that could give his mind a jolt of activity.

Now, normally he and Trunks would've come up with some sort of trap to antagonize Gohan with; that had always been their first choice of entertainment. Sure, being trapped inside a spaceship just made the punishing swirly inevitable, the young teen couldn't say that the whole routine wasn't boring.

Unfortunately though, his brother had been preoccupied with a certain dark haired human. If he thought his "sleeping past noon" was bad, his brother and "special friend" were sleeping well past three. Must've been because of that late night activity of theirs.

Then again, it was possible that they were out and about while he was asleep and just retreated back to their room before he woke up. He just preferred to think of the other reason as the cause of it.

"Dear Kami woman! How many times do I have to tell you; leave me alone!"

Turning his head to look towards the doorway, along with the only other occupant of the room, Sixteen, the two found a very flustered Trunks entering with a patience-trying Erasa on his heels.

"But Trunksy!" the blonde whined. "There's nothing to do on this ship! Why can't we hang out and get to know each other?"

"Because I'm not in the mood," the oddly colored saiyan responded irritably.

"But you said that last time! When will you be in the mood?"

Instead of answering though, Trunks addressed Sixteen. "So how's the ship running? Any problems?"

"None," was the android's response.

Nodding his head, the saiyan youth then said "I'm going to take a nap. I'll relieve you in a couple hours."

"Understood."

And with that, Trunks made a beeline towards the entrance, hoping to avoid an exasperated Erasa, which he was quite successful in.

The blond though, didn't take it that well. Bowing her head in defeat, she slowly made her way to the door, most likely heading towards her own room.

However, she didn't leave without company.

"Why do you do that?" a voice said from behind her.

The blonde human nearly jumped out of her skin before turning around to find Goten walking up to join her. "Do what?"

"What you do with Trunks," the saiyan answered. "Why do you do it?"

"Well," Erasa said, "what else is there for me to do? I'm not like everyone else here were I can train or meditate or something. I need to talk with someone and Videl's always with Gohan now."

"So why Trunks? What makes you want to talk with him?"

"Well, I kinda think he's cute."

"Kinda?" Goten responded with some amusement in his voice. "Would 'kinda' mean that you're willing to stalk him no matter where he goes?"

"What's that suppose to mean?"

The saiyan shook his head. "Forget about it."

Silence soon over came the two as they continued walking down the corridors. It didn't last too much longer though as Erasa finally inquired "Do you think Trunks will ever like me?"

"Not with the way you're going about it. I don't know too many people who like having someone else bothering them all the time," was the Son boy's very blunt answer.

"Do I really bother him?" the girl asked, a hint of hurt in her voice.

"Can you not tell? Every time you try talking with him, he's trying to get away."

Once Goten had said that, he soon found himself walking all by himself. A little surprised, he turned around to find Erasa standing in the middle of the hall, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

Was it something he said?

A bit uneasy, the dark haired fighter questioned "Uhh, are you alright?"

A very emotional voice answered his question. "I'm…fine. Just fine."

It was then that the girl finally broke down, falling to her knees as she cried. Goten could only look on, baffled at this display of emotion. Never had he seen a woman just break down and cry like this; it seemed unnatural to him. Then again, the only contact he had with anyone of the female gender were saiyan women and they weren't much into the crying thing.

Awkwardly, Goten approached the weeping girl. "Uhh, are you alright?"

The only response he got was the sounds of the girl's grief. Lowering himself into a crouched position, he asked again "Are you—"

Suddenly, Erasa moved right into his body, wrapping her arms around him as she pressed her wet face into his armor; the sound of her crying being muffled into his chest. Hesitantly, Goten put his own arms around the girl, wondering what he was supposed to do in this weird situation.

The two stayed like that for several minutes until Erasa's sobs quieted down; yet Goten remained in his foreign position as he held the girl. After awhile, he shifted the girl a bit, discovering that the girl had somehow gone to sleep.

Well this was just great. Here he was, in the middle of a hallway with a girl who had cried herself to sleep in his arms. Now what was he suppose to do? Half of him was telling him not to leave her in her present condition while the other half was telling him to make a run for it.

He would've been lying if he said he wasn't leaning towards the second option.

However, for some strange reason, the saiyan chose the first one. Whatever the reason, he didn't know, but the next thing he knew, he was carrying the girl towards her room. Fortunately, it didn't take long to find since she had purposely chosen a room close to Trunks. Opening it, he entered the room and placed the blonde on her bed, turned around, and promptly left.

If there was one thing in his training Gohan had forgotten teach him, that situation just had to be it.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Gohan and Videl were not having wild nights. As a matter of fact, those nights were the exact opposite.

Although Android Sixteen could keep the ship running for as long as need be, it had been silently decided that everyone would have a turn at keeping the ship on course and out of trouble, at least that was what had been decided between the people who could pilot the vessel.

And it just so happened that Gohan had the night shift.

Of course, Videl just had to join him at the task, figuring that some conversation would be desired at the most restless periods of time. However, those 'conversations' would've been more accurately described as interrogations most of the time.

"Tell me again what we're doing," the Satan girl spoke.

Sighing, the saiyan repeated the same answer he had when ever this question was brought up. "We're going after some relics that'll help give us a home."

"And how exactly do these ancient things do that?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I don't want to run all over the universe on a wild goose chase without even knowing what we're doing it for."

"I already told you that we're doing it for a home. That's all you need to know."

Videl scowled. "You're really starting to tick me off Gohan. Tell me what we're really doing and we can avoid what comes next."

The bane of the saiyan warrior's existence: what comes next. He knew exactly "what came next". It would be another lonely night of just lying in bed and not doing anything to entertain themselves.

Now, he didn't want it known that he was some sort of sex crazed man; as a matter of fact he wasn't. It was just that when you didn't get something every so often, you begin to crave it, and when you crave it, you think more and more about it to the point of sounding like something you're not. In this case, the two fighters hadn't had sex in awhile and it was starting to make the male half irritable. He thought he could outlast her determination to not do it, at least in the beginning. Now though, now he could see why it was that women tended to be more dominant in relationships.

And as reluctant as he was, his pride was starting to regret ever challenging the natural order of things.

Sighing once more, Gohan finally gave in. "What is it you want to know?"

"Why are we looking for these relics? How are they gonna give us a home. I want to know everything," the girl responded.

Rethinking his decision slightly, he finally answered "As I understand it, these relics are keys to a mythical 'machine' if you will."

"Okay, so what is this 'machine' going to do?"

"If what Bibidi said was right, we'll be able to travel back in time and stop Planet Vegeta from being destroyed."

An uneasy silence filled the room. If Gohan were to say it was starting to make him nervous, it wouldn't have been a lie. And just as he was about to break the silence, Videl finally spoke.

"So we're going to reverse time and save Vegeta, right?"

"Pretty much."

This time, it was Videl's turn to sigh. "And this is what you've been trying to keep away from me?"

"I guess."

The Satan girl shook her head. "You really need to pick your battles better Gohan. You could save yourself a lot of frustration that way."

That comment caused the saiyan to give an incredulous look at the human girl. He wanted to say something to that, he truly did, but nothing good seemed to strike him; so he did the only thing he could and turn his attention back to the main window, utterly defeated.

Yet, the thought that Videl was taking this thing a little too calmly disturbed the warrior. The last time he had a talk with someone concerning this, it had left both parties very upset. Perhaps he needed to probe his bed buddy a bit.

"And this doesn't upset you?" he asked.

"Not really," was the answer.

"And the fact we could be potentially killing off every living thing in the universe doesn't disturb you?"

"How can you kill something if it doesn't exist?"

Well that was a unique way to look at it. Perhaps he needed to include Videl more in these talks of massive universal consequence. Her line of thinking was very unique in theses circumstances.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Gohan persisted.

"Well, it's not the best feeling, but I don't think that's something we need to worry about. We're actually doing something about our situation instead of whining about it, so I think I can live with the consequences."

Truly, this girl was full of surprises.

Before the two could do anything else, the only bald resident of the ship entered the room. "My turn to take over," Tien said.

Nodding his head, the saiyan rose from his seat and exited the room, Videl walking beside him. They maintained the silence that had fallen on them back in the control room until they reached their room. There, Gohan started their next session of trading words. "I don't know about you, but I think I'll turn in."

Videl just nodded her head to show her confirmation, slipping into the sheets of the bed soon after.

Following her lead, Gohan slipped in and laid on his back staring at the roof. It was then a spark of inspiration struck him. They hadn't done a certain activity in quite some time; it was time to rectify that.

Videl wouldn't object to that train of thought as well.


	6. Possession

Haha! I bet ya'll weren't expecting this undate so soon! Heck, even I'm surprised I got this baby read so soon. Then again, I did have some "extra" time to work on it because of a certain problem. But hey, ya'll get to reap the rewards for it. Enjoy!

* * *

"So this is the place, huh?" Goten asked as he surveyed the area.

"That's what the relic's saying," Gohan answered as he too took a look around.

Of all the worlds the two brothers had been on, this one completely broke the stereotypical desolate planet. For some reason or another, the saiyan trio had found themselves on planets that had large amounts of dead land, similar to deserts and wastelands. It would've been a lie if they said they hadn't expected a similar environment to house one of the relics they sought.

What they found instead was a planet teaming with life. Purple plants that resembled grass covered the ground in every which way they warriors could see. To call the place they stood a plain would've been wrong. It was more like a meadow in the middle of a forest as the purple grass faded into a border of trees, the standard brown bark covering them though the leaves were of the same purple as the grass. The vibe of the place gave off one of serenity if anything.

That had been a very welcoming vibe for the boys.

However, there was one spot in the middle of the field that stuck out like a sore thumb. A large grey rock with blue moss covering it jutted out of the ground at a diagonal angle, trying as if to reach the sky. If one looked carefully towards its bottom, they could see that two smaller rocks were helping to support the behemoth of stone.

But neither saiyan cared much for rock formations. What really had their curiosity was that foreboding cave entrance those rocks formed. It was quite likely what they were seeking was in there somewhere.

"I guess we should start our search," Trunks commented then. When the saiyans and their human counterparts had landed on this planet, it had been quickly decided that the saiyans would go in search of the artifact, much to the chagrin of Videl. She had been getting tired of being left behind by the saiyan trio but didn't have much of a chance to change that decision as Sixteen agree with the choice. A four to two decision without Erasa's vote since she had remained in her own room during the landing and subsequent vote.

For what ever reason, the blonde had holed up in her room, upset about something. Videl had spent a whole day trying to find out what was wrong with her but her efforts were for naught.

Not that Trunks minded. That was just some time he didn't have the love-crazed girl on his heels, bothering him all over the ship.

But back to the matter at hand. Staring at the cave for a few seconds they soon approached the mysterious cave in single file formation; Gohan taking the front, Goten in the middle, and Trunks in the back.

The first thing the three encountered upon entering the cave was a set of stairs leading into darkness. The steps all by themselves alerted the three warriors that this "cave" wasn't a naturally made one.

"Well, at least we know we're in the right place," Trunks muttered under his breath.

Ignoring the comment, Gohan began the descent down the staircase, followed by the younger saiyans. Down, down, down they went, focused solely on the steps before them, ignoring the small droplets of water falling on them from the stalactite covered ceiling. Even the faint sound of water splashing on water didn't disrupt their thoughts.

Soon, the staircase ended, opening up into a long narrow hallway with walls too smooth to be normal. Despite this though, they continued their trek.

Yet, something was bugging Gohan. As far as they had come, though it didn't seem like a great distance, they had yet to run into some sort of booby trap. For a place that held a key to this powerful time machine, you'd think there would be a better form of protection for it.

Then again, not too many people knew about it. If that was the case, then there might not have been a need for traps. Still, it would be wise to keep one's guard up in the off chance there were any.

Wouldn't want to spring one on accident anyways.

* * *

"Hey guys," a weak voice said.

Jerking her head, Videl's eyes fell upon her blonde friend, who looked as if she had dyed her eyeballs red.

"Erasa! What are you doing out?!" the Satan girl exclaimed. "I thought you wanted to stay in your room for a month!"

A feeble smile came across the girl's face. "I'm sorry I worried you Vi. I was having some personal time is all." Taking a look around the room and noticing the world outside the main window, the blonde asked "Where is everyone?"

To Videl, it was obvious who "everyone" was: Gohan, Goten, and Trunks. "They went to go retrieve whatever it is we're supposed to get here. They'll be back in a little bit."

"And Trunks is out there too?" came the next question.

That caught the dark headed girl a bit off guard. She had been certain she meant him too when she had inquired about the lack of people on the ship, though it was obvious where Tien and Sixteen were since they were sitting in the pilot's seats.

"Yeah, he is," the daughter of Satan answered slowly.

A small sigh escaped Erasa's lips. "I thought as much. Oh well."

If Videl wasn't already suspicious of her friend's behavior, she was now. Usually she threw a small fit at not seeing the oddly colored saiyan off; now this lack of response? There was obviously something going on inside the girl's head and Videl was gonna make sure she found out what that was.

However, before she could say anything else, Sixteen suddenly jolted out of his seat, looking as if he had been bitten by a snake as a trace of sweat slid down his face.

"What's wrong Sixteen?" Tien asked as he too got out of his seat, staring at the monitors in the off chance there was some kind of threat.

"My sensors are picking up a very large power heading this way," the android replied, his voice sounding a bit frightened.

The bodyguard had caught that inflection in the giant's voice. "Is there more about this power? You're acting as if we're all about to be blow to bits."

Slowly, the android's eyes moved to look at Tien. What the bald human saw was unmistakable fear in this blue eyes. "I've never felt something like this Tien. It's…evil…pure evil…"

Tien's three eyes widened. "This…is bad."

It was then that both he and Videl practically fell to their knees, their ki senses devastating them. Never in the Satan girl's life had she felt something this horrible. It was almost like madness had taken on a physical form and was ready to create havoc at any moment.

It also didn't help the fact that the power was heading right for the three saiyans.

* * *

Well this was odd. After heading down the narrow corridor, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks found themselves in a small grey room, the walls covered in strange symbols. If the eldest saiyan had to guess at anything, they must've been some sort of ancient language. What it meant though, was beyond his comprehension.

It was times like these he wished he had brought Sixteen with him. At least with his computerized brain, he could've figured out what it meant to some degree. Then again, he probably didn't have these "letters" in his databanks and they'd still be at square one.

"What are these?" Goten asked aloud, hoping for some sort of answer. It was a good thing he had low expectations of receiving one or otherwise he would've been disappointed at the lack of response from the other two.

Trunks though, gave him an answer that pretty much summed up their lack of knowledge. "Beats me."

However, as he said that, Trunks touched the symbols with his hand, finding out that they had been engraved into the stone.

Instantaneously, the letters he had touched began to glow a golden light, and it was spreading from those letters and into the others, going until every symbol was glowing.

That just couldn't be good.

"Oh great, way to go Trunks," Goten said sarcastically. "You just had to start making them glow. Maybe you can get them to make sense if you try."

"Hey, how was I suppose to know they'd start glowing?" Trunks shot back.

However, before the two could continue their banter, the golden symbols began to glow brighter and brighter until the whole room was covered in white light, leaving each saiyan standing in whiteness completely and utterly alone.

Not good.

Unfortunately, as Gohan found out, the whiteness was making his eyes burn, forcing him to close them. Damn it, now he was a sitting duck if something wanted to attack him. Perhaps he had spoken too soon about this place not having booby traps.

And then, the brightness was gone, allowing the saiyan to open his eyes once more.

What he found though, was a tree moving towards him at a very high speed.

Reacting immediately, he dodged the obstacle, only to find he was heading right into another one. Instinct took over once more as he dodged that tree as well. The whole process continued on itself as the fighter dodged tree after tree, completely forgetting that he was moving the whole time, running to be exact.

That running came to a stop though as he entered a clearing with a lake in it. A feeling of familiarity overcame the Son boy, almost as if he had been here before.

For whatever reason, he moved towards the body of water, slipping off a pack that had suddenly made itself known on his back. How it had gotten there, Gohan didn't know, not to mention the sudden thirst that had overcame him. Perhaps this lake would cure that.

Kneeling down next to it, he cupped his hands and lowered them into the water, bringing them up to his lips and drinking the water held in them. A couple more scoops of that finished off his thirst.

It was then that the saiyan took noticed of what was in the water. There, looking up at him from the lake surface, was a blond man with teal eyes. Immediately, Gohan grabbed a lock of his hair and pulled in into his vision.

Just like the man in the lake, it was blond.

And then it dawned on the saiyan exactly what was happening. He was back on Planet Vegeta, not too long after his transformation into a Super Saiyan.

But why was he here?

Jerking his attention back to the water, he found his blond reflection once more. Seriously, what was going on here?

That was when he noticed something about his watery image. It was…smirking? Why in the world was it doing that? Gohan was pretty sure he wasn't smiling like that, if at all, yet this reflection was doing exactly that.

It was then that the image began to change before the Son boy's eyes just as a ripple in the water passed over it. Curved horns grew out of his forehead as the top of his head enlarged and became purple. The face itself changed into a pale orange color as its eyes took on a yellower shade.

At that moment, a hand burst out of the water and clamped onto Gohan's face, the owner of the appendage emerging from the watery depths.

"I'm not done with you boy," the voice of Jenemba cackled before he was sucked back into the water, pulling Gohan into the lake with him.

And with a scream, Gohan jolted off the ground, completely drenched in sweat. Or was it lake water? He didn't know but he didn't care as he found himself in the room full of symbols once more.

Breathing heavily, the saiyan attempted to recover himself, though he was visible startled. What had happened back there? Why had he been at the lakeside from so long ago? And why had Jenemba of all people attack him there? There were so many questions he had and yet none of them could be answered.

That was probably the most troubling thought of all.

It was then that the saiyan took a look at his surroundings. As he had noticed before, he was back in that strange room with the letters, but they had ceased to be glowing. Another thing was that he was sitting on one side of the room, close to the wall in fact. If he had to guess anything, he had been leaning against it before he woke up.

That was when he took noticed of Trunks and Goten. Both of the younger fighters looked as if they had gone through a similar experience as they panted heavily and were drenched in sweat. Presently, Trunks was on all fours in the middle of the floor, most likely laying there during the whole ordeal; Goten leaning on his side against the wall, showing that he too had been on the ground.

After a moment, Gohan finally questioned "Did you two have something happen to you too?"

Two affirmative nods answered that questioned, followed by Goten saying "That had to of been some kind of nightmare, I swear it had to be." A quick shuddering occurred after his comment.

"I'm not sure, but that was too real to be a nightmare," Trunks responded. "But I really don't have anything else to call it but a nightmare."

Gohan frowned then. "Tell me something, did your nightmares have something to do with something you had done before?"

The jerk of their heads was all the answer the warrior needed to know that he had hit the hammer on the nail. Taking a deep breath then, he got to his feet, followed by the younger two shortly after. "I'm not sure what happened to both of you, but I say we wait awhile before divulging them. Let's get this artifact here and get out. I'm starting to not like this place anymore."

"Got that right," Goten muttered in agreement.

Turning, the three saw a doorway they were sure hadn't been there previously. Looking at each other for a moment, they soon began heading into the opening, shortly finding themselves in another corridor. Fortunately, it hadn't been as long as the previous one as a doorway at its end showed another room.

Heading into it, the three saiyans soon found themselves in a very large room with several pillars standing up, heading towards the back of the room. One thing about those pillars though, was that they were huge; almost as if they had been built by hundred foot giants. No way would someone their sizes would've made something that large. If one were to try looking at their tops, they would only see the massive stone structures disappearing into the darkness above.

Towards the back of the room though, a short pyramid structure stood. A staircase built right into its sides led all the way from the floor and up to its top, where a small altar stood, a stone ring circling above it as thin pylons held it up in the air. However, there was something wrong with this picture.

There was someone else in the room were no one should've been, a few someones in fact. One of them even held an odd stone staff that had two arrowhead shapes sticking out of it in his hands, or at least Gohan assumed it was a he. Small chatter was being made as the group made its way towards the saiyans, slowly revealing themselves.

At that point, all three saiyans wished that they weren't there at the moment.


	7. Lifeline

Hey folks, I have a favor to ask ya'll. There's a couple parts of this chapter I'm a bit antsy about and I was hoping some of you could help me out. Just send me a message of anything that seemed a bit stressed. Like I shouldn't have bothered mentioning it. That would help tremendously.

* * *

"I still don't see why I have to be blue," a southern accented voice complained as its owner walked through a large room.

"Would you quit your whining Tretton?" Gero snapped. "It's getting very old."

"Yeah, you should enjoy your new body," Angie agreed. "I know I am."

"At least ya'll look the same," Tretton countered. "I look like an oversized blueberry!"

"I don't look anything like my old body," Cell spoke up, "and you don't see me complaining."

"That's because anythin' would've been better than your old body."

"Well it is your own fault you look like that," Gero said this time. "You got most of your body destroyed by the saiyan you fought, not to mention that there weren't any blueprints for your body. You'll just have to make due with what you've been given."

All the blue android could do was grumble to himself. However, his sulking didn't last much longer as he noticed a small group of people in front of the doorway they had used earlier. The closer he and his "comrades" came to that group, the more he came to recognizing them.

Well, at least one of them anyways.

"Do ya'll see what I see?" Tretton asked aloud.

"Yes, I believe I do," Cell agreed. "Unless my eyes are deceiving me, I'd say those are saiyans in front of us."

"Saiyans you say?" Gero spoke. Using the optics of his eyes, he focused on the trio before them, a grin forming on his face. "Well, well, well, it appears we've run into some long lost 'friends.'"

"You serious?" the taller Angie questioned as he looked at the warriors. A similar grin soon appeared on his face as he took interest in the taller saiyan. "Well I'll be. And here I was just itching to give my new body a test drive."

At that point, all four androids stopped, focusing hungry eyes on the saiyans before them. "It's been awhile monkey," Gero called out.

"It hasn't been long enough," the eldest one said spitefully. "I don't know what you're doing still alive but I'm gonna make sure your dead and buried this time."

"Oh, you won't be getting that chance monkey," the old man replied. "Thanks to our benefactor, you won't stand a chance against us."

The flea bag narrowed his eyes, soon taking notice of the stone artifact in the android's hands. "And what exactly are you doing with that?"

"Huh?" was Gero's response before he realized what the saiyan was talking about. "You mean this? That is no concern of yours, especially since you'll be dead in a few minutes."

Before any of the fighters could respond, the former government leader raised a hand in the air and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Tretton, Angie, and Cell launched themselves at the three saiyans, each one heading for the one that had killed them previously.

Reacting quickly, Trunks and Goten took off to a side, one to the left and the other the right, with Tretton and Cell following them respectively. Gohan, on the other hand, crossed his arms in front of himself, feeling the impact of a punch Angie had thrown at him soon after; a shockwave from the collision blaring across the room.

Much to Angie's surprise, Gohan didn't seem fazed from the blow, the complete opposite of what he expected. He had assumed that one hit from his new strength would've broken every bone in the monkey's arms, followed by his opponent flying off his feet and into a wall. Instead, the saiyan hadn't even budged.

Taking that moment to his advantage, Gohan straightened one of his crossed arms out, grabbing Angie by his extended arm. Quickly pulling his other arm back, the saiyan warrior simultaneously pulled the tall android towards him and threw his cocked arm at the machine's face.

Reacting, Angie jerked his head to a side, dodging the punch. Immediately, he threw his other fist out, seeing it land this time on his foe's chest. The hit caused Gohan to lose the air in his lungs as well as some saliva in his mouth, his grip on the android's other arm loosening.

Grinning wickedly, Angie began slamming punch after punch into the saiyan's midsection; Gohan being completely helpless to stop the pounding, at least for that point of time.

Getting a hold on his stunned body, he immediately swung both of his arms in front of himself, catching Angie's incoming punches by his wrists. For a moment, neither fighter did anything as the android poured his strength into pushing his fists forward, hoping to overcome his opponent, even as Gohan used his strength to maintaining his grip out Angie's wrists.

"How…_dare_ you touch me," the former seventeenth chair growled to Gohan, a look of strain and frustration on his face. Not liking the guy's attitude, the saiyan pulled his arms away from each other, pulling Angie's arms with them. Quickly, the warrior lunged himself up towards the air with one of his legs bent, his knee colliding with the android's chin and stopping his jump.

With Angie stunned by the move, Gohan immediately pulled his leg back and swung it forward, slamming the same knee into the android's face and letting him stumble backwards as he released his hold on the man's arms.

Landing back on the ground, Gohan then leapt backwards and to a side, putting some much desired distance between him and his opponent. Holding both of his arms in front of himself, he powered up a decent sized ball of ki in his palms. "Take this!" the Son boy cried out as he fired the blast.

Angie, however, had recovered himself, having already turned to face the incoming beam. Instead of getting out of the way though, the android thrust his arms up on either side of himself, his hands open and fingers spread.

If Gohan really focused, he could've sworn some sort of invisible shield had appeared around his opponent. Instead of just blocking his ki blast though, the moment the blast hit the "shield," the beam dispersed, the particles being dragged towards his foe's hands and getting sucked into them.

Oh this was great; Angie was an energy absorber now. Just perfect.

* * *

Compared to what Gohan was going though, Goten was having a cakewalk.

Perhaps if he had some cake, he would've eaten it too.

"Hold still you pest!" the new version of Cell shouted as he charged at the saiyan in midair. Up until this point, the younger Son had merely been dodging whatever attacks the green android had thrown at him. To him, it was pretty reminiscent of their last encounter.

All he had to do then was make sure it had the same result.

Seeing the android's next punch coming at him, the saiyan used a burst of speed to disappear, just as the blow flew through the space he had just occupied. In an instant, he reappeared behind his opponent, a bent elbow being held in front of him as he rammed it into the back of Cell's head.

The blow caused the insect-like fighter to stumble forward before he retained control of himself. Immediately, he stiffed one of his hands out, his fingers standing tightly against each other and the thumb curled into the palm. Turning his head to see over his right shoulder, he swung the hand at the saiyan, hoping to land the chop.

Unfortunately for the android, Goten caught the attack easily with his right hand gripping the insect's forearm. With a smirk on his face, the Son boy enjoyed every moment that Cell had raw hatred on his face.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his brother struggling a bit against his own opponent. Not liking that scene at all, he then pulled Cell by his arm towards him, moving his left hand to grab the android by his bicep. Spinning his body to his right, Goten then threw the green bug towards his brother's fight, nearly cheering when his aim proved to be true as Cell crashed into Angie.

With the two android in a pile of arms and legs a short distance away, Gohan blinked in astonishment with one of his fists cocked by his side and ready to be used, trying to figure out what had happened. Looking to his left, he saw his opponent and that green looking android jumbled together; to his right, an excited looking Goten.

Looked like he owed his little bro a favor now.

* * *

Similar to the fight Gohan had encountered, Trunks was having a hell of a time keeping up with Tretton. As the saiyan flew over the ground backwards, keeping an eye on his opponent, the android pursued him relentlessly.

With a balled up fist, the bulky blue fighter lunged at his fleeing foe, his punch missing him as it slammed into the ground, crushing the stone on impact.

Thinking he had a shot at attacking, Trunks reversed his movement and charged in, only to end up dodging as Tretton rotated the arm sticking out of the ground, allowing him to swing his body in midair and lash out with a vicious kick.

Landing a ways away, the oddly colored saiyan watched as the android wrenched his arm out of the ground and began to rush at him once more. Raising his arms up, Trunks gathered his ki and fired a blast, the beam impacting the charging monstrosity in his white chest.

Instead of stopping him though, Tretton kept running, closing in on the saiyan. Completely surprised, Trunks just stood there as he sent energy into his ki blast until Tretton planted a very powerful punch to his face, cutting off his energy flow and sending him flying away.

Recovering in air, Trunks did a flip and landed on the floor, skidding for a small distance as Tretton began charging him again. Deciding to take action first, the saiyan warrior rushed in on the android, using his speed to his advantage as he threw and landed a punch to Tretton's midsection. Using a burst of speed then, he disappeared, reappearing in midair by his opponent's head, swinging a kick that nailed the blue brute in the face.

Using the momentum from his kick, Trunks then flipped over his foe's body, landing a short distance away and fell into a fighting stance, ready for the android's next move.

What he got, however, was not an act of retaliation. Instead, Tretton straighten himself out, his arms at his sides as he turned to look at the oddly colored saiyan. "Is that all ya got kiddie? I have to say, I'm very disappointed. I was expectin' somethin' better from you of all people."

"Well not all of us have a skeleton made of metal," Trunks shot back.

That made Tretton look thoughtful, or at least that what it appeared to be with his new face. "Ya may have a point 'bout that, but that didn't stop ya the last time. You were the one to kill me after all."

Well, that was a point Trunks couldn't argue with either; he had killed the guy the last time, albeit barely. Heck, it took his sword just to….

There! That was it! He'd just use his sword and cut this guy into itty bitty pieces! Good plan Trunks, very good plan.

Reaching to his sword hilt, he grasped it and drew his blade, holding it out before him as he charged in to attack. All the while, Tretton slipped into a defensive stance, waiting for the first strike to occur. With a swing, Trunks sliced at the android, only to have the slash blocked by the blue brute's right forearm, almost as if the arm was a physical shield of some sort. Undeterred, Trunks tried another hack, which had the same result as the last sword swing as the android's left forearm was used in the same manner as last time. This time though, Tretton threw a brutal punch with his right hand, landing it in the warrior's stomach.

With the sudden blow sending a huge jolt of pain through his body, Trunks began to drop towards the ground, stopping as Tretton grabbed the back of one of his armor straps with his left hand. The next thing the saiyan knew the hulk's free hand was in his face with a bright red orb of ki.

"I got a present for ya kiddie," Tretton whispered to the young man before he unleashed the gathered ki, the blast biting into the youth as he screamed silently into it. The release of Tretton's hand on his back allowed the fighter to go flying backwards, landing on the ground with a thud as smoke rose from his body.

Almost immediately, Gohan and Goten were at his side, the older Son staying on his feet as he looked at the lavender haired boy and the younger Son kneeling next to him, slowly raising his top up so he could sit. "You okay Trunks?" the young saiyan asked.

"I'm terrific, never been better," Trunks responded as he winched from the burns on his face.

A loud laughter rang out in front of the three, causing them to turn their attention that way, though Trunks looked threw squinted eyes. "Don't worry now kiddie! There's more where that came from!" Tretton taunted.

Soon, the other androids were standing next to the blue brute, including Gero, who looked like he was enjoying the scene immensely. "I have to say, when Wheelo brought us back, I never thought I'd get to see these three beaten so easily."

"Wheelo? Who in the name of Kami is that?" Gohan demanded.

"The one who brought us back to life monkey. Thanks to his medical techniques and a few artificial bodies, we're stronger than ever."

"So that explains it," the eldest saiyan said. "These guys are just like Sixteen; just with a need to have their heads rebooted."

"Sixteen?" Gero questioned before realization dawned on him. "So that's what Jericho calls himself? It's fitting I must say. You wouldn't mind telling me where he is, would you? I have some unfinished business with him and I'm quite sure that Wheelo's time experiment can wait a little while longer."

All three saiyans' eyes narrowed, though Trunks' were already there. So these guys wanted to use the Time Milieu for their own devices; made sense.

They were just gonna have to wait in line though. The three of them were gonna use that thing first, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. There was just one problem.

Those damned androids had the second key in their possession.

Leaning down towards the younger saiyans as subtly as possible, Gohan asked "Trunks, think you can do a little more fighting?"

"Do I have a choice?" was the whispered response.

"Not really. We have to get that key. I'm gonna distract them all while you and Goten steal if from Gero. When you have it, make a run to the ship; I'll be right behind you."

"I hope this plan of yours works," Goten muttered.

However, before they could implement their strategy, the altar at the far end of the room exploded, catching the attention of everyone there.

As smoke ran all over the area, the sounds of heavy footsteps were made, coming closer to the two groups. "My, my, my, what have we here?" a very deep voice said. "Don't tell me you all were having a party without me."

As soon as that was said, a very large, very bulky man emerged from the dark cloud. From what Gohan could see, all the man wore were baggy white pants, gold boots and forearm covers, and a red drape wrapped around his waist. With spiky blond hair and eyes so white, one couldn't see the pupils, that was all anyone could make out of him.

Yet, the Son boy could've sworn he had seen a similar outfit on someone. If he thought back real hard, he could picture the man who wore it, though he was much thinner and had typical saiyan hair.

"And who are you?" Gero shot back.

"My name is of no concern to you old man," the giant replied. "You won't be living very long after all."

"We'll see about that," the former government official stated. "But I seriously doubt you are of any challenge to myself and my companions."

"Not a challenge huh? I've already had the pleasure of killing a few tyrant lizards; adding you to my head collection would be a cinch."

"Tyrant lizards?" Tretton questioned. "Do ya think he's talkin' 'bout the Colds?"

"It's possible, though I doubt he really could kill them," Gero responded, not in the least bit perturbed. "King Cold and his sons are much too strong for some fool who has more muscle than brains."

A smirked covered the hulk's face. "You're making a big mistake old man. Cold and both of his kids made that same mistake and I blew them up along with the planets they were on. I have no reservations to doing the same here."

Any more banter became meaningless to the three saiyans though. Each one had a gut-wrenching feeling that they knew what had happened to their home…and this guy was apart of it somehow.

It was then that Gohan decided to interrupt the heated threats that were being thrown around. "Your name is Broly, isn't it?"

That caught the hulk and androids' attention. "So you know my name?" Broly replied as he gave the warrior a once over. "I must say, you do look familiar."

Gradually, emotion began to overwhelm the fighter. "It's me, Gohan. You remember right? We went to Earth to save Vegeta."

That caused the newly dubbed Broly to smirk. "Well, looks like you had a useless trip. I destroyed Vegeta. Apparently, you had pissed off some mechanical lizard off while you were running around in space and he wanted a bit of revenge. I think you can fill in the blanks."

Gohan lowered his gaze. It was just as he had feared.

"Broly, was it?" Gero suddenly spoke. "I believe that's a saiyan name. Perhaps I do have to take you a bit more seriously." Looking over to Angie, he said "Take care of him."

"With pleasure," the tall android responded, smirking as he removed part of his left forearm, revealing a gun turret. Raising up the arm, Angie began firing his machine gun rounds.

The first initial shots didn't hit the large saiyan, first landing on the ground several feet in front of him. Slowly, Angie's arm rose, the gunfire moving towards Broly, leaving a trail of bullet holes in its wake. Finally, the bullets reached their intended target, pelting the golden saiyan all over his torso.

And all the while, a frown creased the warrior's face.

How dare that worm insult him with meager bullets? With the power he had at his disposal, there was no way any of those pieces of lead would pierce his skin and cause damage to him. He would show this lowly maggot exactly he was dealing with.

There was no movement; only a gust of wind. With that wind though, Broly had disappeared from his previous location and had reappeared with his hand grasping Angie's face. The next thing anyone knew, Broly's momentum carried him and his victim behind the group of androids, a large crater forming in the wall from where the Super Saiyan rammed Angie's head into.

"How did you like that worm?" Broly taunted the former human as he released his hold and allowed the man to drop to the slouch against the wall.

A loud growl escaped Tretton's lips then, as he wheeled on his heels and launched himself at the giant saiyan, letting out a war cry. "Tretton, stop!" Gero shouted after him, but his cry was all in vain.

Turning around, an amused expression appeared on Broly's face, just as Tretton wrapped his arms around his torso and rammed him into the wall crater behind him, causing big chucks of the stone to jut out.

"So you want to play huh?" the saiyan spoke as he rose both of his hands over his head and clasped them together. A powerful jackhammer blow to the blue android's back stunned him, leaving him defenseless.

Unclasping his hands, the giant put them on the blue brute's shoulders and pushed him off of his person. A stumble by Tretton told the bulky warrior he was still trying to recover from the previous blow.

Taking advantage of the situation, Broly forced his body from the wall, landing on the ground in front of Tretton. Balling up his left hand, Broly then swing the fist, landing the punch to the android's face and sending him to the opposite side of the room; flying over the heads of the other warriors.

"What…what is he?" Gero exclaimed as he took a step back.

"He's dead!" Cell shouted, answering the rhetorical question. Spreading his legs, he cupped his hands to his right side and began to chant "Kaa…maaa…"

Hearing the chant, Broly turned his attention to the green android as it gathered its ki. Smirking, the juggernaut began walking towards the insect as an orb of energy formed in his cupped hands. "Haaa…maaaa…"

It was then that Goten's eyes widen, horror filling them. "Guys, watch out!"

At that point, Broly had stopped his march barely a foot in front of Cell, still smirking. "You're finished monkey!" the android shouted as he thrust his cupped hand in front of himself. "HAAA!!"

The ball of blue ki sprung forth, encompassing the saiyan that boldly stood at point blank range. The next thing any one knew, a large explosion detonated, sending everyone except for Trunks to the ground.

Soon, the flames died down and only smoke filled the room. Standing the closest to it was Cell, who had slowly lowered his hands, a look of pride clearly on his face. "He didn't know what hit him, stupid monkey."

Almost on cue, a bright green light appeared in the smoke, astonishing the insect. What…but how…it couldn't be!

Answering Cell's doubts, a green ball of ki burst from the cloud of smoke, whizzing by his head, heading towards its true target.

Gero.

Acting on pure instinct, Gero flung the hand holding the Time Milieu key to his side, losing his grip on it as it flew across the room and clattered on the ground, stopping near the exit. With his other hand, he held it our in front of himself, catching the incoming ball of ki and absorbing it into his system.

"Impressive," Broly commented as he moved out of the smoke in front of Cell. "I guess I'll just have to try a different approach on you old man."

That statement sent a jolt of anger through Cell's body. "Hey! How dare you push me aside monk—"

And that was as far as he got as Broly calmly crossed a fist in front of his chest and then swung it back across, backhanding the android in the face and sending him flying away.

Meanwhile, Gohan began eyeing the relic over by the doorway. At the present moment, he was looking at a priceless chance to get the key and escape without anyone being the wiser. It was a chance he wasn't going to miss. "Guys, when Broly attacks Gero, head for the exit."

Apparently, the younger saiyans had noticed the same thing the elder one did, both of them nodding their confirmation, waiting for the signal to begin. It wasn't long before they saw the giant saiyan start his charge.

Immediately, all three saiyan raced towards the doorway. There was only a brief pause on Goten's part as he bent down and scooped the key off the ground.

Unfortunately, that was as far as their good luck ran as a green ball of ki arced over their heads and collided with the wall over the door, sending debris falling in front of it; a very effective way to trap everyone within the room.

"What's the matter?" Broly's voice called out. "Why are you leaving all of a sudden? The party is just beginning!"

Jerking around, all three saiyans found their larger counterpart approaching them with a huge grin on his face. Behind him, the body of Gero laid, his head pointed at an odd angle. Apparently, his body was just as fragile as it was when he was still human.

Damn, you just couldn't trust a human to do anything useful, could you?

"I hope you're ready for a fight," the Super Saiyan continued. "I haven't had a decent fight yet and I figure a few saiyan warriors can fix that problem for me."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Tretton came flying in, ramming into Broly once more and sending the two flying towards a wall, the two breaking right through it. Talk about a lucky break.

Not waiting for something else to interrupt their plan again, Gohan placed his hands perpendicular in front of his head, gathering up his ki. A cry of "Masenko Ha!" sent a large yellow beam flying up to the roof, creating another way out for the saiyans.

* * *

To say any of the humans on the ship were nerve-wrecked would've been an understatement. Every single one of them had been growing more and more antsy as time passed, their anxiety building up to unbearable levels.

"C'mon, c'mon," Tien muttered to himself as he looked out the main window. It had seemed like an eternity since he and the other two ki sensors had detected that huge, evil power and things had gotten worse when they had confirmed that it had been headed for Gohan and the others.

But he at least knew how to keep his cool in these situations, unlike a certain pair of girls. Both looked to be on the verge of pulling their hair out if they didn't find out if the saiyans were okay.

Suddenly, a large yellow beam erupted from the middle of the forest, alerting all the humans instantaneously. It wasn't long before they saw three auras heading their way and flying fast.

The immediately feeling of relief they all had upon seeing the three was soon replaced with worry. Why in the world were they flying that fast?

It only took a few more minutes for their saiyan companions to board the ship, but once they burst into the control room, chaos filled the place. "Get this ship moving NOW!" Gohan roared.

Both Tien and Sixteen were momentarily stunned before they jumped to work, soon getting the ship into the air and out towards space.

Once they had left the planet, each saiyan plopped into an unoccupied chair, a defeated look on each of their faces. "So what happened back there?" Videl finally asked.

There wasn't an answer for quite some time, as each saiyan didn't seem to be in the mood to answer, nor did any of the humans repeat the question as each of them were overwhelmed at this behavior of theirs. Eventually, though, Gohan answered them.

"We got the key we were searching for," the Son boy said. "And…and we figured out who destroyed Vegeta."

The Earthlings looked at each other, uncertainty in their eyes. "So…who did it?" Tien prompted. He received the last answer he would've ever expected.

"We did."


	8. The Adventure

Solemn; that had to be the word that best described the mood on the ship.

From the moment Gohan had let the damning words flow from his mouth, every occupant had been in a stasis of numbness. To be more accurate though, the humans of the group protested the statement.

That changed dramatically when they heard the story.

From what they could gather, that huge, evil power Videl, Tien, and Sixteen had detected was coming from a saiyan, Broly. It was from Broly that the cause of Planet Vegeta's destruction had been revealed.

In short, a half mechanical tyrant had come to the planet seeking revenge. In response, Broly had obtained a great power but had ended up destroying the planet in the process. Now, while the saiyan had physically destroyed it, the cause that made the scenario possible was created by them.

Namely the battle with Frieza. How that alien had survived Gohan's last blast was beyond the Son boy, but he had; then headed for their home world to destroy it. Had the warrior been positive of the kill, things would've been a lot more different.

But no matter how much Videl could spin it in her head, there was no way she could persuade the boy to think that the whole matter wasn't his fault. Everyone makes mistakes, though most of those didn't result with floating debris. It would take awhile for her lover to put this whole matter behind him, that much she knew.

Unexpectedly though, it was Tien who released the somber mood from the group's mind. "Well, at least we know what point of time we have to change."

At that, Goten lit up. "Yeah, you're right! We can stop Frieza from arriving on Vegeta! We'd have a home again for sure!"

"But how are we gonna do that?" Trunks countered. "We don't know where that guy went after the battle on Namek. Then there's the fact of when it happened. We can't just go around guessing when it occurred."

"At least we know it happened in the last six months," Goten retorted. "That was when we left Namek, so we can at least transport ourselves back home around then and wait."

"That's a pretty good idea," Tien agreed. "We could even train ourselves for a few more months to make sure we're ready for him."

It was at that point that Gohan spoke up. "Don't forget, Broly mentioned that his father was with him at the time. It's quite possible we're going up against two Friezas then."

"So we should go back more than six months?"

That caused the saiyan to think. "We have to assume that if we did go back to six months ago, we wouldn't really have that much time to train. At least a month, maybe. But instead of waiting to go back in time, we should beef ourselves up on our way to the Time Milieu. That should help out our cause. Then there are those humans—"

"Humans?!" Videl and Tien exclaimed simultaneously. The reaction caught the Son boy off guard until he realized he hadn't mentioned that part.

"Oh, sorry about that. Apparently we have competition for the Time Milieu. Before Broly showed up, we ran into some old friends, namely Gero and company."

"That can't be right," Videl argued. "Me and Sixteen both saw you blow him into smithereens."

"Yeah, you did. However, someone had gotten their hands onto some designs for artificial bodies. The guys we saw down there were just like Sixteen."

Slowly, everyone's eyes shifted to the android, who had gone quite pale upon hearing the news. "That can't be…" he sputtered.

"Well it was," Gohan replied. "Now I want you to think real hard Sixteen. Who could possible have access to those kind of blueprints? I don't know Gero too well, but I'm pretty sure he would never let someone take credit for his own work."

The giant's eyes unfocused as he thought. Soon, something dawned on him as he muttered "Coten."

Gohan frowned. "Who?"

"I probably haven't told you this, but I have the others. Back when I was part of the Earth's government, I had a scientist unassociated with Gero make me my present body. At the time he was the only one I knew who had the resource to build one and I handed over the blueprints for the body to him willingly. It wasn't until later that I found out he was an associate with Dr. Wheelo."

"Who's this Dr. Wheelo? Gero mentioned him a couple times."

"He was a renowned scientist that had made his name through medical experimentation. Though he was brilliant, he was also insane, performing experiments that were considered crimes against humanity. Eventually, he disappeared, no one knowing what had become of him. His name disappeared soon after, though there were some followers that wouldn't let his name die. Coten was one of them, an assistant of his at one time."

Gohan's shoulders drooped. "And you asked him for help concerning your body."

"Unfortunately, that is correct. But that's all he did for me. Soon after the completion of the body, my main financer alerted me to a scientist that was sympathetic to our cause. He was the one who developed the chips that stored and transmitted my mind into this body. I stole the body Coten had made after that and hadn't heard from him since."

"Who was that scientist?" Tien suddenly asked. "I wasn't aware of too many people that stood against Gero and were still breathing."

At this Sixteen smiled. "His name was Dr. Briefs. A little kooky as people go, but quite brilliant."

"Well, we've got a trip on our hands," Gohan spoke up. "We're gonna need to be prepared for it, so it's about time I got some rest." And with that, the saiyan stood up out of his chair and headed for his room.

* * *

It had been two days since that incident and no one had brought it up since. Not a soul wanted to contemplate their whole role in the destruction of Vegeta, leaving them to figure out ways of preoccupying themselves.

Unfortunately, when you're in the middle of space, there's only so many things one can do. That was the position Goten found himself as he walked down one of the corridors.

Why was it that boredom was inevitable in this place? It was really getting to the young saiyan and he didn't like that. Never had he had a trip where something big wasn't going on and afterwards, they had to rest themselves for the next incident. So far though, there hadn't been anything of note to bother with. Hell, just stopping on a nearby planet would've been a nice change.

Suddenly, a door opened down the hall, Erasa appearing soon after. Well that was weird. Sometime during the Son boy's restlessness, he must've ended up around the bedroom branch of the ship…again…for the third time that day.

The sound of the saiyan's footsteps reached the girl's ears then, causing her to turn her head and see the warrior. "Hey Goten," she greeted.

"Hi," was his reply.

"You bored too?"

"Yep."

"Wanna hang out? It might help kill some time."

"Okay."

And with that small bit of conversation, Goten found himself sitting at the foot of Erasa's bed with his head turned to look at her; the girl herself sitting towards the head with her legs bunched up into her chest, her arms wrapped around them. There was just one small problem now.

Goten had no idea how to "hang out."

"So…what do we do?" the young Son asked, looking towards the blonde.

"You know, talk about anything that comes to mind, stuff like that."

"Huh, I've never done that before."

"You've never hung out before?" Erasa said, startled. That was definitely something she hadn't been expecting to hear.

"No, not really. I've been pretty busy doing other things to do it," Goten explained.

"What kind of things?"

"Well, there was surviving on Vegeta with Gohan and Trunks; then heading to Earth to start a fight there; and then there was the Namek thing; and then Dabura wanted to—"

"Okay, I think I get your point," the blonde interrupted. "So you've just been fighting all this time?"

"It's not like I had a choice or anything. You do what you have to do and that's all there is to it," the saiyan replied.

That sent the blonde into deep thought. Rarely had she ever had to see the ugly side of life, though that had changed the moment she had forced her way to going with Videl on her saiyan chase. About the worst she had seen was a small amount of corruption, which even she took a part of. However, the killing aspect was really the one thing that she couldn't get use to, understanding even less of it. Now though, she had someone who knew and understood it to a T. Perhaps she needed to do some research.

"So who taught you? To fight I mean," she asked.

"My brother did."

"He taught you to kill too?"

"Isn't fighting and killing the same thing?"

"No, it isn't."

"And what gives you that idea?"

"Well, killing is where you take a life and fighting is when you protect yourself, right?"

"Yes and no."

"Yes and no?"

Goten sighed. "One thing you have to know, the reason people learn to fight is to protect and kill. It's like learning how to use a sword; you're not just going to use it to wound someone, you use it as an instrument to kill your opponent. That's what the fighting style of it dictates."

"You thinking in order to fight, you have to purposely try to kill someone?!" Erasa exclaimed.

"Fighting is about survival, even if that means taking a life," the saiyan responded. "I can guarantee you, every opponent, human, alien, or demon, has fought to kill me. In order to protect myself, I have to fight to kill."

"But you don't have to kill them!"

"So I should let them live so they can try to kill me again? There's no grey area in this, girl. It's kill or be killed. That something noncombatants don't seem to understand."

Erasa was quiet for a moment. "I never thought about it that way."

"That's for sure."

"So because of that, you've only been around your brother and Trunks?"

"Yep."

Surprise once more filled the blonde. "You've never been around a girl before?"

A bit startled by that accusation, Goten said "Of course I have! I just haven't been around them to get to know any of them." After that, he turned his head away, refusing to look at the girl.

"Would you say you're attracted to any?"

"Maybe. I never gave it much thought."

"Is that so," Erasa mumbled out loud. Goten chose to ignore it in turn.

A slight rustling sound was made then, followed by Erasa's voice saying "Are you attracted to this?"

"Attracted to what?" the young saiyan said as he turned back to look at her. What he found was a something he had never seen before.

Make that two somethings.

And like most of the men before him, he found them utterly fascinating.


	9. Distraction

"You imbeciles! How could you've lost that artifact?!" Coten demanded.

Standing before the scientist was a nearly destroyed group of androids. It had been very close but thanks to their lack of a ki signal, they had managed to escape the rampage of Broly. Unfortunately though, the item they had gone to get had been taken during the battle, most likely by one of the saiyans.

However, just because they had escaped didn't mean they hadn't suffered injury. Presently, Gero was lying on the ground with his broken neck, though he was still among the living as his blazing eyes were sending daggers towards Coten. Beside him was Angie, who had not woken up after being rammed into a wall by the giant saiyan. There was even an imprint of the monkey's hand in the dark haired android's head.

The only two androids still able to move were Tretton and Cell, albeit barely. Tretton had fist sized dints all over his blue body, as well as his pant legs being torn. One could see the exhaustion from the damage on his face. Cell though, was in much better shape. What appeared to be mere bruises and scraps dotted his body, but there was obviously something wrong with the way he moved. Probably his wiring controlling his balance was damage, or so Coten thought.

But that was all meaningless since he could repair that damage. It was the relic, or lack thereof that was the problem. Without it, their whole plan to use what Dr. Wheelo called the "Time Milieu" was a waste of time.

"Well, I'm waiting," the doctor said, still waiting for the ragtag group of bolts and screws to respond. Finally, Tretton said "We were attacked by a very big monkey."

"A what?" Coten responded skeptically. "You had some flea bag beat you up?"

"It was more than a flea bag," Cell protested. "It was a saiyan and a very powerful one too. Not even our new powers were able to scratch him!"

"A saiyan? Like the ones that killed you? Impossible!" the old man retorted. "I've run all kinds of simulations of the three that attacked Earth and I've granted you more power accordingly. I even included the possibility of them becoming stronger! But now you tell me that an oversized monkey beat you to Hell and back? That's utterly preposterous!"

"Like we said, this wasn't an ordinary saiyan," Tretton shot back. "He was able to kill off the whole Cold Family without gettin' hurt."

"Lies!" Coten roared. "You're just making excuses for your blundering! I oughta throw all of you into the scrap heap! You're nothing but—"

"It was a saiyan you say?" the deep rumbling of Wheelo suddenly said, interrupting his assistance's rant.

"For the third time, it was," Tretton replied, obviously becoming irritated.

"And what was it doing there? I can calculate a million other better places for it to be than where you were."

"Exactly!" Coten agreed. "That's exactly what—"

"It sensed us fighting," Cell answered. "We had a small run in with some familiar faces."

"And who would you know that would appear at that temple? You've been dead for quite a while," the brain countered.

Cell and Tretton looked at each other before deciding to answer. Swallowing a lump in his throat, the insect like android said "We ran into the saiyans that killed us."

A silence fell over the whole room. "You saw those…monkeys?" Wheelo said.

"Yes, and they wanted the artifact we were after."

"Hmm, what an interesting thought," the mad genius said. "Perhaps this failure isn't as bad as feared."

"What do you mean Dr. Wheelo?!" Coten shouted, disturbed by that notion.

"I mean, we can use these saiyans to do all of our dirty work. We'll just have someone keeping an eye on them and then steal the artifacts at the last second," the doctor explained.

"That's brilliant!" Coten praised. "I couldn't have thought of anything better myself!"

"As if he could think," Tretton muttered.

"He is a suck up, so that's to be expected," Cell whispered back.

"Alright, you've been granted a period of grace!" Coten announced, whipping around to face the androids. "First I'm going to fix you Cell and then send you out to keep an eye on our monkey problem. Report their progress whenever they retrieve an artifact. I'll fix the rest of you later."

* * *

Gohan stood in the hallway, waiting for his little brother to show.

He wasn't positive, but he knew something was going on with the boy. He was sleeping later than he usually did and appeared a bit fatigued. As they day wore on, that tiredness would disappear but that didn't stop concern from building up within the saiyan.

Obviously, he was doing something that sapped him of his strength. It was possible he was doing a basic workout but something like that wouldn't tire out the little guy. Even if he did an over exaggerated number, that still wouldn't put a dint in his persona.

That workout would also have to exclude the ki aspect of his training. It was much too dangerous to do that sort of thing in the middle of space. And since the ship was still intact, it meant he hadn't resorted to it.

After eliminating that option, Gohan couldn't help but feel frustrated since there was nothing else he could think of that would wear Goten out. On top of that, rarely was he in his room now. Where he was spending his time was a bit perplexing as well.

Sure he could've used his ki senses to locate the younger Son but there had been a problem with that idea. As of late, he had been suppressing his ki signal, similar to what he had been doing. But for the oldest Son, he only did that when he was doing a certain activity in his room.

And that one involved having a partner.

So here he was, instead of leaping to some sort of conclusion, he was gonna get the whole story out of the horse's mouth. From there he would decide what course of action would be needed to be done.

A few more minutes passed by before his target appeared. He was casually strolling, whistling some tune that Gohan hadn't heard before, which probably meant his brother was trying to make up a song all on his own. His notes were pretty off key though.

"Trying to be a composer?" the older saiyan asked, a slight cringe around his eyes.

"Nope, just felt like whistling," his brother answered, a bit cheerful in his answer.

"Well, whatever song you're on, I haven't heard of it," Gohan told him.

"There's plenty of stuff you haven't heard of Gohan."

That made the older Son cock an eyebrow. "And would one of them be a ki-less training regiment?"

"Huh? Training? I haven't done any that lately."

"Really? Then what have you been doing? You look as if you've been running a marathon everyday."

Goten's eyes widened as a small blush crept onto his face. If that didn't tell Gohan that something was up, then he would've had to be an idiot. Thankfully, he wasn't one. "You haven't told anyone, have you?"

"I haven't, but that hasn't stopped anyone else from noticing your fatigue. Mind telling me what's going on?"

The young fighter looked all around them, making sure that no one was around. "Can we talk somewhere privately?"

"Aren't we in private already?"

"I mean…somewhere the others wouldn't stumble on us."

"How about your bedroom?"

"That's good; yeah, let's go there."

It didn't take long for the two Sons to arrive at their destination. With every step they took, Gohan could see Goten becoming more and more nervous, while he was getting more and more curious. Was this the way he made Videl feel when she wanted to know something?

Once they were within the room, both saiyans turned to look at each other, opting to stand rather than sit on any of the furniture. To be fair though, there was only a bed and a chair in here that could be used for sitting, but their warrior upbringing taught them that unless one sat, everyone would stand unless told otherwise.

And in this case, Gohan wouldn't sit on his brother's "property" while Goten wouldn't sit until his elder did. A bit of a quandary that neither of them thought about.

"Okay, spill," Gohan said.

Nervously, his brother began "Well…you know the girl that was bothering Trunks?"

"Yeah? What about her?"

"I…uhh…she…we've had…sex."

That answer made Gohan stare for quite awhile before he slammed the palm of his hand on his forehead. Why hadn't he thought of that? Everything that had worried him was a similar action he did.

Perhaps he should reconsider that idiot label.

"So you've been experiencing that," the saiyan said. "What do you think about it?"

"I like it," Goten admitted. "But it's more exhausting than I thought it would be. No one ever mentioned that part to me."

That made Gohan grin. "So did you take control of it?"

Up until this point, Goten had been blushing. It was at this point that his face went very red, as in the color of an apple. "Well actually…she kinda…took over."

"Huh? She did?" That had caught the Son boy off guard. Seriously, everything he had known about the girl shouted weak. To hear that she was the one taking control of something, anything was a bit of a shock to him.

"Yeah, but it was awesome. She knew what she was doing," the younger Son said, going into a bit of a daze.

"It usually is."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Gohan and Goten were having their talk, their female counterparts were having one of their own. Ever since they had left the planet with the Time Milieu key, Videl had been noticing a rapid change in her blonde friend.

First off, the short depression she had been having disappeared, which the Satan girl had felt relieved about. Second, however, she hadn't been stalking Trunks very much. Sure, she would ask about him from time to time, but it wasn't like her earlier obsession with him. And third, both of these occurrences just so happened to coincided with Gohan's brother and his odd behavior as of late.

What that last point had to do with the first two probably was Videl grasping at straws. She did find it odd that the two were acting a bit differently at about the same time, so it was quite possible that the two were related. A stretch, the girl admitted, but it was something to consider.

Standing in front of her friend's door, she knocked on it and awaited the oncoming reaction. The door soon opened, revealing Erasa in nothing but her undergarments and not looking the least bit ashamed of it. "Hey Vi! Come on in!"

Taking the invitation, the Satan girl entered the room, immediately noticing a certain smell in the air. A very familiar one in fact.

"Erasa, do you smell that?" Videl asked after the blonde closed the door.

The girl sniffed the air a little before replying "Not really. What does it smell like?"

"If I had to call it anything, I'd say it was sex," she responded.

Silence passed.

"You've had sex in here, haven't you?" Videl finally said, already knowing the answer.

However, Erasa's reaction wasn't what she was expecting. She actually seemed shy, a completely different response than the blonde's usual gossip mode.

That, however, didn't stop Videl from her investigation. "Okay, was it Trunks? Did he finally crack?"

"…not exactly."

Okay, now she was stumped. All this time, Erasa had been pursuing the oddly colored saiyan no matter what happened. Heck, they had been forced to land on a desolate planet once and the blonde had taken the opportunity to chase the boy in only her underwear.

Actually, now that the Satan girl thought about it, she was wearing the exact same garments now as she was then.

But now, with her prime suspect out of the lineup, Videl was at a loss of who it could be. If it wasn't Trunks she'd been with, than it could only be one of four people, and one of them better not be the one to sleep with her friend. Otherwise, there would be blood to pay, specifically coming from the guy's nether region. She'd probably rub some salt in the wound too, just to make herself feel better.

However, she wasn't going to jump to conclusions yet, though it was very tempting. But she also had to consider Erasa. She wouldn't sleep with the guy that she had chosen to become close to. She just didn't work that way; except with other people. Then again, Videl had never had a guy she was interested in so there was no way to actually back that theory up.

But now she had to consider the other three men on the ship. First thing she did was cross Sixteen off the list. The guy was all machine and from his behavior, Videl got the feeling that he wasn't very interested in sex. Next would be Tien, but he was a maybe at best. If Erasa had really wanted to bed her teacher, she would've been doing her boy-crush act on the bald man when they first met. In fact, Erasa had genuinely seemed uninterested in the man. Any thought of her changing her mind was easily squashed. Besides, it wasn't often the blonde reversed the way she saw people, at least without something significant happening.

Finally, there was Goten. To be honest, Videl just couldn't seem to make it fit. He was a bit hyper and pretty blunt; not the kind of person that would flatter you day and night, and that was the kind of person Erasa was usually drawn to.

However, if it was Goten, it would definitely explain why he was tired as of recent. In fact, it was quite possible that the younger Son had said something to Erasa that could've caused that small depression of hers, giving her the reason to actually consider him as a bedmate. The more Videl thought about it, the more she had to admit it; he was the only one that completed the puzzle.

"It's Goten, isn't it?" she finally said.

Erasa's eyes widened before she pushed her shock aside. She should've known her friend would've figured it as fast as she did. "How did you figure it out?"

Videl smirked. "Well, he has been acting a bit off lately. Sleeping a lot more but never being fully rested. It takes a lot to get that boy that way, and it's finally making sense as to what's causing it."

"You're just too smart Vi," Erasa responded as she sat on the bed.

"Of course; you expected anything less?" the Satan girl said as she mimicked her friend's action.

"No, I shouldn't have."

A short silenced overcame the two before the dark headed girl said "You know you can't sleep with him every single night, right?"

For what felt like the third…probably fifth time…during the conversation, Erasa looked surprised. "Why not? Don't you and Gohan do it every night?"

"As a matter of fact, we don't. Unlike you, I can go awhile without having intercourse."

"That was mean Vi, but I'll forgive you."

"Thank you."

* * *

As a last second note, I must confess that Videl's desire to rub salt in a wound wasn't entirely my idea. It comes from Ms. Videl Son in one of her fanarts. I still shiver at night from it.


	10. Caught A Lite Sneeze

Well, at least it wasn't a cave.

It had taken awhile, but eventually the group of saiyans and humans had arrived at their second location. If they had known that each relic was practically on the other side of the universe, they would've tried splitting up or something. But the thought that they could only find the next artifact was after getting the clue with the one they possessed quickly put down that train of thought.

However, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were staying in the ship this round, along with Erasa. Somehow, someway, Videl had gotten the idea of sending the other half of the group, that being herself, Sixteen, and Tien; allowing the saiyans to take it easy this time. She got quick approval from the younger saiyans and Sixteen of all people. That only left Gohan and Tien on the losing side since Erasa didn't need to make a vote.

After that, a pyramid sized temple was the location of the relic. Green jungle had surrounded the place except for the clearing the building was located in. Moss had slowly covered the structure, hiding the original color of the place from viewers.

Inside wasn't much better. Cobwebs had made themselves at home over the long millennia. Though a good amount of them kept to the corners of the halls, sometimes draping themselves along the walls, every now and then they would find one that covered the whole passage.

Now Tien had to admit that he wasn't very found of spiders along with the stuff they made from their behinds. Videl was the same way as well, but what was really strange was that Sixteen must've felt the same way as they did in his previous life since he too looked a bit edgy around the webs.

Fortunately, a handful of ki caused the screen of webs to incinerate in a matter of seconds, allowing the three to continue on their quest. They hadn't been inside the place too long when they found themselves in a small room.

From the moment all three of them had entered it they had gone on alert. For some strange reason, there weren't any of the cobwebs they had encountered on their way here. In fact, the place looked as if it had been swept barely a minute ago. Bare walls the color of bronze marked the room's area; a small podium that went to about Videl's knees sat in the middle of the floor.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this place," Tien finally spoke.

"It would be recommended if we left soon," Sixteen agreed.

Heading towards the opposite side of the room from where they had entered, making their way to a dark passageway, Tien decided to walk over the small podium rather than around it. It was just sitting there, begging to be stepped on.

That proved to be a bad move as a golden eye-like symbol appeared, covering the entire top of the podium. Soon, more symbols began appearing, seeming to be spreading from the platform as the markings covered the floor and made their way up the walls.

"What's going on here?!" Videl shouted as she dropped into a fighting stance.

"I don't know!" Tien shouted back as he copied the Satan girl's action.

Soon the symbols covered the room from corner to corner, the golden glow from them becoming brighter and brighter. The next thing the bald human knew, he had closed his eyes from the intensity of the shine.

When he opened his eyes, he wasn't in the same room. Instead, he was in a room he recognized that belong to Governor Crane's mansion on Vegeta.

As if to confirm that thought, Tien's third eye caught sight of the very familiar form of Gohan, looking a bit fatigued and ready to attack.

"Gohan? What's going on?" the bodyguard called out. He didn't get an answer from the saiyan as he fell into a stance, ready to go on the offensive. Reflexively, Tien went into a defensive stance. He didn't know what that guy was up to but he would be damned if he was gonna get beat up because of it.

That was when the last person the bald martial artist thought he'd see appeared by his side. There, floating by his shoulder was Chiaotzu, looking ready to go back into combat.

It all suddenly came back to the bodyguard. This was the fight he had had with Gohan; the first time he had met the saiyan…

And the time Chiaotzu died.

Immediately, Tien jerked his head to his left, just in time to see the hidden Piccolo launch his attack. "Beam Cannon fire!"

'Oh no, not this time' Tien thought as he prepared himself to stop the ki blast. However, his body leapt out of the way against his will, almost as if his body had a mind of its own. Because of that, the bald human had to once more see his long time friend be killed by the deadly attack, the beam piercing right through the mime's chest and exiting out his back.

"Chiaotzu!" Tien cried out as tears began to fall from his eyes. Not again, why had he had to see it again? It had devastated him the first time and seeing it for a second time was just as unbearable.

Exactly as he had done the previous time, Tien turned to look at Chiaotzu's killer, but this time it wasn't the Namek that revealed himself.

This time it was Krillen.

"Krillen?!" the bodyguard shouted. "But you're dead!"

"No thanks to you," the monk replied before a huge jolt of pain slammed into the back of his head, sending the bald man to the ground.

'Why? Why's Gohan helping him?' Tien thought as he turned his head to look at the saiyan. It had been him that had blindsided him the time before, knocking him out before he could avenge Chiaotzu's death.

But like Krillen's appearance earlier, instead of finding the culprit he had thought it'd be, he found the monk's wife, Hatchi, standing over him with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"What do you think I should do to him?" the blonde beauty asked her husband, keeping her cold blue eyes on the fallen fighter.

"You can do whatever you want with him," came Krillen's response.

"Well, that's too bad for you," Hatchi said to Tien as she held out one of her hands before her. "Don't forget to scream."

He didn't forget.

* * *

Just like Gohan before him, Tien woke from his violated memory with a scream, covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

Less than a second later, Sixteen was beside him, his hands on the human's shoulders. "What's wrong Tien?" he asked urgently.

"It…it was just a dream," the man replied, letting out a sigh of relief.

"More like a nightmare I'd say."

Turning his head, Tien saw Videl awake and she looked just as bad as he did; sweat pouring down her face, hair sticking every which way, and she was panting heavily.

"What did you see?" the bodyguard asked.

"I…I saw Gero sticking his hand into Gohan's stomach again," the girl admitted. "And I couldn't do anything…again. But instead of Sixteen coming to help, I saw that green monster that Goten killed. He was holding Gohan still until Gero sucked him dry."

"Are you okay?" Sixteen asked, clearly looking worried.

"No…not really. I will be when we get out of here. What about you Tien?"

Tien let out a sigh before answering. "I saw my friend Chiaotzu getting killed again. But instead of Piccolo doing it, it was a man that I killed, Krillen. Then his wife Hatchi blindsided me when I thought it was Gohan's doing. Then she blew me to kingdom come."

Videl winced before looking at the last member of their group. "And you Sixteen?"

"I didn't have one."

That caught the other two's attention. "What do you mean you didn't have one?" the Satan girl nearly yelled.

The android looked at her. "You remember when those symbols had nearly blinded us?"

"Yeah."

"Well, after the glow died down, I was the only one standing and both you and Tien were laying on the ground. I kept watch over you until you woke up, at the same time as well."

"I think we need to ask the others about this," Tien said before Videl could respond. "I have an idea but I want to be sure about it before I say anything."

The android nodded. "I have one too but it can wait."

"Care to tell me what these theories are, _gentlemen_?" Videl asked.

"You'll learn about it soon," the bald bodyguard responded.

That caused the girl to growl. "You two are just as bad as Gohan."

After that, the three continued on their hunt, reaching a room that held an altar in it.

A small set of steps stood in front of a podium that covered most of the chamber; a tall stone pedestal situated at its center. On the pedestal sat a large stone ring, one big enough to be mistaken for a headband. Actually, that could've been what it was. On it, a symbol fairly close to the eye that appeared on the podium that Tien had stood on.

"That looks like the thing in that nightmare room," Videl commented.

"There must be a common link between them," Sixteen surmised.

Picking it up, Tien looked at the other two and said "We got what we came for, now lets get out of here."

* * *

"So you got the goods?" Goten asked as the three humans boarded the ship.

Holding the ring up, Tien gave the saiyan all the answer he needed. Heading towards the control room, he sat in one of the chairs, sighing deeply.

"Something happened?" Gohan asked as he leaned back in one of the pilot chairs.

"You could say that," the bald human answered. Looking towards the fighter, he suddenly asked "Did anything peculiar happen to you when you went into the cave that you ran into Gero?"

"Depends on what that peculiar is."

Looking towards Videl, the bodyguard nodded his head for her to tell the event. "We walked into a room and had nightmares," the girl said. "But the thing was, they were of some traumatic times for us."

Immediately, Gohan jerked his head to look at Trunks and Goten, all three paling.

"You had one of those too?!" Videl screeched. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Videl, calm down," Tien spoke up. "No one knew that something like this would happen. It was possible that they thought it would be better if they didn't worry us about it."

Gohan immediately jumped at that explanation. "He's right. Would it have done any good to mention something that could've been nothing?"

"Well it is something!" the Satan girl snapped.

Deciding to head off the inevitable argument, Tien said "What did you three see? Were they like memories or something?"

The oldest saiyan's eyes narrowed. "You could say that."

"Which memory?"

"The time I first became a Super Saiyan."

A slight irritation began to show on the bald human's face. "And did something different from what actually happened occur?"

That seemed to stun the saiyan a bit. "Yeah, I suppose. I was staring into the lake when my reflection turned into Jenemba and he attacked me."

"And you two?" Tien asked as he turned to the younger saiyans.

"I was fighting Android Nineteen," Trunks answered. "Then I went to this weird dream world place, but instead of seeing my dad, it was Frieza and he was taunting me. I tried to fight him but he just toyed with me until he decided to kill me."

After that, everyone looked towards Goten. "Mine was when me and Trunks thought Gohan was dead on Vegeta."

"You were dead?!" Videl interrupted.

"Not now," the Son boy replied. "I'll tell you later."

"You better."

"As I was saying," Goten said, a bit annoyed, "my dream was when the two of us thought Gohan was dead. We moped for awhile until we felt Gohan and Piccolo coming. Gohan was there but instead of Piccolo, it was Bojack. I tried to protest him joining our group and that pirate killed Gohan. Trunks tried to attack and he killed him too. Then he tried to kill me and that's when I woke up."

"Is it just me or do these nightmares have something to do with our pasts?" Trunks suddenly spoke.

"I think that's the point you wanted us to get," Gohan said, looking towards Tien.

"You got it," the human replied. "Everyone that's had these nightmares has had them focused on some sort of memory they had; each one dealing with a significant point in that person's life."

"What's the purpose of that?" Goten asked.

"Could be a booby trap," Gohan suggested.

"Maybe a warning," Trunks added.

"A warning?" Videl said.

Trunks turned to look at the girl. "Would you leave something that could alter the very universe unguarded? It's possible those nightmares are telling us to turn back or something."

"A valid possibility," Sixteen agreed.

"But that won't stop us," Goten said. "We've got too much riding on this."


	11. Dear Lucid, Our Time Is Right Now

It's amazing how whenever I go to my parents' house, I get such a great motivation to write. Such a writing-conducive place, I swear. But that just means more chapters to read for ya'll so worship the grounds those old people built their house on. Otherwise...you'd probably wouldn't have this latest chapter so soon.

* * *

It had to happen. Things had been going way too smoothly so something bad just had to happen.

Standing on rocky ground, Gohan glared at the smoking engines. Just as they were halfway to their destination, one of rockets had overheated. Fortunately, the ship's computer went into shutdown mode when it detected it.

Unfortunately, it shut off every single rocket engine just as they were passing a nearby planet, a place called Karan. The gravitational force from the planet pulled their ship towards it, forcing them to make an emergency landing.

At the moment, they were grounded on a cliff, one that allowed them to look out across the planet. Though they were currently in a rugged terrain, about a half mile away a forest started.

Finally losing patience, Gohan shouted towards the thrusters "What's the damage Sixteen?!"

A moment passed before the android drifted out of the openings. "The damage isn't too great but it will take a day or two to repair it."

That caused the saiyan to growl. Well, he had been expecting something to happen sooner or later. Their luck wasn't so great as to let them have a perfectly done trip, no hitches whatsoever.

That would've taken Kami himself to give them that.

Soon, Goten stood next to him, looking up at the ship's thrusters. "So we're stuck here for a little bit?"

"Unfortunately. I would love to know what deity is behind this whole thing. Is it too much to ask for us to get from one side of the galaxy to the other without any problems?"

"I guess it is," the younger Son commented. "But maybe this was our fault."

Gohan slowly turned his head to look at his brother. "And pray tell, how is this any of our fault?"

"Well, we have been traveling this whole time. We haven't really stopped to do any sort of maintenance on it. It was only a matter of time until this happened."

Gohan kept looking at Goten. "Goten, sometimes I hate it when you're right."

"Well, I can't be wrong all the time."

"This time around, I wish you were."

It was then that Videl came walking over to the two Sons and completely passed them, eyes narrowed so she could see something in the distance. Both saiyans noticing this odd behavior turned around and saw exactly what she was looking at: a rising cloud of smoke out towards the horizon.

"What do you think that is?" Goten spoke up.

"Forest fire?" Gohan suggested.

Before Goten could reply, the Satan girl stuck her finger out, pointing towards the tree line. "Right there, I see people."

Looking by the tree line, both saiyans saw what appeared to be two kids running. From the distance they were at, the kids appeared to be humanoid wearing nothing but light brown sacks over their bodies. Most likely the Karanese that lived here.

Suddenly, three figures exploded from the forest, cackling manically. Though the saiyans and Satan girl were a ways away, they could plainly see the battle armor they wore.

"Those kids are in trouble!" Videl exclaimed.

"And they're about to be road kill," Goten added, watching the sight.

"We've got to do something!"

"I don't know; I think it'd be better if we stayed out of this. It could be a domestic problem."

Videl stared at the younger Son. "How can you be so cold blooded about this?"

"Easy, I'll just watch."

That caused the girl to growl. "Well if you're not gonna do anything about it, than I am." Flaring her aura around her, Videl launched herself off the cliff, flying straight for the fleeing children.

"Videl, come back!" Gohan shouted before growling himself. What did she want to prove anyways?

* * *

"Keep running Kail!" a brown headed girl shouted, running as fast as she could on her small legs.

"I'm trying Mai!" a smaller boy of similar hair color cried back. Unfortunately, he wasn't as fast as the girl as he was slowly lagging behind her.

"You can't escape runts!" one of the men chasing them, a boar like creature, shouted, flying after the two with his comrades hanging back a bit behind him.

That was when the little boy tripped, falling to the ground roughly. Hearing the sound, the little girl turned around and ran back to him, trying to help him up.

A heavy boot landed barely a foot away from them, causing both children to look up in fear. Baring down on them, the boar held an arm cocked back, his hand balled into a fist. A gleeful looking leer covered his face as he began to throw his punch.

Then out of nowhere, a green covered foot slammed into the side of his head, sending him flying away, crashing to the ground on his head. He didn't get up.

Both children turned their attention to look at their surprise savior, finding a dark headed girl in a white shirt and black shorts. She held herself like a warrior from what they could see. Perhaps she could save them.

The other two pursuers came to a stop, landing on the ground. From what Videl could see, one was a human like guy though he had a helmet on his head, the glass visor open. The other was a lizard-like guy, though he had a strange device on his arm. Probably one of those energy guns the Cold Empire used.

Actually, now that she looked at them clearly, they were definitely wearing the armor issued to the Cold Army foot soldiers. Just what were they doing here?

"You're gonna pay for that little girl!" the humanoid shouted. "Nobody messes with the Cold Army!"

Well that confirmed it, they were foot soldiers.

However, before anything could happen between her and the men, a large blast of ki rammed into the two, incinerating them before they knew what exactly happened.

Jerking her head around, Videl found Gohan standing behind the children, holding a hand out and a not too happy look on his face. "What in the world do you think you were doing Videl?!"

"In case you hadn't noticed, I was saving these kids," the Satan girl replied tartly. "Something you and your brother didn't seem to want to do."

"And what exactly were you gonna prove by saving them? It's not like we can take them with us."

"Well I had to do something," Videl said, turning her back on the saiyan as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Please, don't argue because of us," the little girl said then. "We didn't mean to cause you any trouble."

The arguing couple turned to look at the little girl. "Don't worry about that," Videl responded. "Are you two okay?"

The little girl helped the boy up, patting his back as he dusted his front. "We are now," she replied. "Thank you for your help."

"I don't want to sound noisy or anything," the Satan girl said, "but could you tell me why those guys were chasing you?"

* * *

The children known as Mai and Kail were wolfing down the small offering of fruit and bread they had received, courtesy of the people around them.

Watching them all, the small group of saiyans and humans considered the words they had managed to say during bites of food. From what they understood, a small brigade of Cold foot soldiers had come to this world shortly after the fall of their tyrannical bosses. Convinced they were of elite warrior status, they conquered a local village and used it as a base of operations so they could take over the rest of the planet. So far they had taken a sizeable chunk.

All the while, they treated the native inhabitants as nothing more than slaves, forcing them to work the land and fulfill their every desire.

As children, Mai and Kail had been put to working the fields. However, due to their cultures forest lifestyle, they and the rest of their people had been ill equipped to commence farming. They had to learn very quickly or they'd be made "examples of" by their guards.

Obviously, they learned pretty quick.

However, a couple days ago, the two children, or siblings as they claimed, had taken a gamble and escaped, hoping to get to a village not yet attacked. It was only that morning that they had run into a small patrol and had to run.

"So now what?" Tien asked, watching the siblings finish their food.

"Well, it's obvious," Videl answered. "We help them."

"And why do we need to do that," Trunks asked. "We've got bigger problems."

"And how do you suppose we fix ours when our ship is grounded? We might as well lend our help while we're here."

"You know, she has a good point," Goten agreed.

"Sixteen, if you have help with the engines, how long will it take you?" Gohan suddenly asked.

"Approximately a day and a half," was the android's answer.

"Okay then, Trunks and Goten, help Sixteen out. Tien, Videl, and I will take care of this annoyance."

Videl stared at the saiyan with wide eyes. "You mean, you're gonna let me go with you? You're not gonna leave me behind?"

"Well, if you insist, you can always stay," Gohan offered.

"Oh no, nope, I'll go," the Satan girl said quickly.

"Are you gonna really help us?" Kail asked, looking up at the taller people with wide eyes.

Videl turned her gaze onto the little boy and bent over, placing her hands on her knees as she smiled at him. "We sure are. We'll even try to get rid of those bad guys."

"You can't!" Mai suddenly shouted. "They'll kill you! There's no way anyone is stronger than them!"

That caused Gohan to narrow his eyes as he began cracking his knuckles. "We'll see about that."

* * *

Three figures descended onto the ground, touching down on small bits of twigs and leaves. As soon as they landed, the two little kids they had carried dropped to the ground as well.

"So this is your home?" Videl asked as she looked around them. Currently, they were in a small wooden village surrounded by the green forest, the shacks forming several crooked streets that branched out in all different directions. Despite all the buildings being here though, there wasn't a sight of any of the native Karanese.

That wasn't a good thing.

"Yeah, this is the place," Mai confirmed.

"So where is everyone?" Tien asked.

"Probably being worked by the bad people," the girl answered.

"Well then, let's go pay them a visit," Gohan spoke as he began leading the group in a random direction.

"Umm, sir?" Mai said.

Turning to look at her, the saiyan replied "What?"

"Umm, the bad people usually take us the other way."

Gohan stared at the little girl for a little bit before switching directions and heading the way Mai had pointed out. "Not one word," the saiyan spoke as he walked passed his human companions.

However, none of them got very far when a sly voice came out of nowhere. "Well look what we have here boys."

Jerking their heads up, the group of five found themselves somewhat surrounded. On top of the wooden huts, men of humanoid or alien descent stood or crouched, looking down at the group with evil intentions.

"I didn't know we were a tourist spot," a wolf looking man said, the same sly voice coming from his mouth. "Wouldn't you guys say they chose a bad place to vacation?"

The other men began to laugh, sounding like a group of hyenas. "Punks," Gohan murmured. "I came here expecting a fight but all that showed up were punks."

"What was that boy? Did you say something?" the wolf mocked. "You're gonna have to speak up if you want to be heard. Didn't your momma ever tell you that?" At that point, he made a very obvious movement with his hand, his cronies either raising and aiming a hand or one of the energy guns on their arms.

"Videl, Tien, on my mark," was all the saiyan said, both humans taking on very serious expressions.

Within a second, all three warriors vanished from sight. The next thing any one knew, blurs were racing all over place, lashing out vicious hits that sent the cocky foot soldiers off their perches and crashing into trees or onto the ground. Regardless of landing spot, each soldier was knocked out or falling into a deep sleep that they wouldn't wake up from; the whites of their eyes visibly showing.

Suddenly, Videl and Tien were back in their spots, looking as if they hadn't moved at all. However, Gohan had yet to appear, signaling that he wasn't done just yet.

And that fact alone worried the sole survivor of the assault, the wolf-like fighter. Looking around frantically, he never spotted the saiyan until his legs were kicked out from underneath him. Although realizing that his opponent was crouched behind him, his back unguarded to the wolf; that didn't change anything as the saiyan spun himself around and slammed the same leg he had used to trip the alien into its back, sending him flying up into the air.

Straightening himself out, Gohan then raised a hand straight up into the air and gathered his ki, firing a ki blast soon after. The beam raced through the air and exploded on the helpless wolf fighter as he screamed, destroying his body in the process.

All the while, Mai and Kail watched with wide eyes. Never had they seen their oppressors dealt with in such a simple manner. It was almost like a gift from a favorable deity.

And as Gohan approached the group, Mai finally said "I…I think these people can do it. They can help free our village!"

Kail looked at his sister with wide eyes. "Do you really think they can? Really, really?"

"Didn't you see the way they got rid of those bad guys, Kail? Of course they can! They'll get rid of the bad guys and everything will be alright!"

At that moment, Kail jumped at his sister crying in joy as they started to dance in a circle.

"Well, we might as well," Tien said then.

"We're involved anyways," Gohan agreed, staring at the cheerful kids. "They'll just have to lead us to the boss around here and we'll take it from there."


	12. Secret Crowds

I was pleasantly surprised by the response of last chapter. Thanks to all who reviewed, it means a lot. Hopefully this chapter will bring about the same reaction.

* * *

Small columns of smoke wafted into the air from burning torches. Forming a straight path, the poles the burning lights sat on were placed across from each other. Behind the poles, a large gathering of Karanese were forcefully kneeling, their faces pressed right into the dirt, almost as if reinforcing the torches' path.

Standing in front of them with proud smirks on their faces were former soldiers of the Cold Army. Their armor gleaming in the sun as they stood confidently, almost as if they were gods among the downtrodden people.

At the end of the trail, a crude "throne" had been constructed. Its seat was at a normal height for someone to sit in, but the back of it stood at an obscene height; polished animal skulls with antlers sitting on top of it.

And on the seat of the throne was a lean purple alien, his bumpy head looking abnormally large. Black armor with dull yellow shoulder guards covered his torso as black spandex covered his legs. White gloves and boots covered his hands and feet, completing his outfit.

To say he thought much of himself would've been an understatement, at least from Gohan's eyes. He even held an arrogant look on his face as if he was the lord and master of the universe; obviously a sign that he had been part of the Cold Army.

Mai and Kail had led the saiyan and his human companions here, which is what he had wanted them to do. He had just wished that the people he was about to kill weren't so damn cocky. It got annoying since they would be sure to bring up the outcome of the Saiyo-Earthling War.

It was almost as if people were dying to mention that every time the opportunity came up.

"Well look what we have here," the purple alien announced, making all the Cold soldiers' smirks grow and the Karanese to shield away fearfully. "Looks like someone brought us back a couple runaways."

"He thinks we're bringing Mai and Kail back to them?" Videl asked rhetorically.

"Looks like," Gohan answered anyways.

"That guy has a pretty big head if he really thinks that."

"Which do you mean? Figuratively or literally?"

Taking a longer look at the smug alien, the Satan had no choice but to say "Now that you mention it, both."

Those comments, much to the little Karanese's dread, had been heard by the purple leader. "Watch your words, weaklings!" he shouted. "I am the Mighty Cui! Your heads will be mounted on my throne if you anger me further!"

"And why should we be careful of our words?" Gohan shot back. "I mean, you're nothing but Cold Army rejects from where I'm standing."

That caused all of Cui's men to growl in anger. Who did this guy think he was dealing with?!

"Videl, Tien, stand back," the saiyan said as he walked a few steps towards their opponents. "I'll deal with this quickly."

That was more than a couple of the soldiers could take as a burly humanoid alien and a thin purple reptilian one lunged at him, yelling war cries. As they drew closer to the insulting saiyan, the burly alien drew back his fist as the reptilian pulled his leg back.

And as the two soldiers threw their respective punch and kick, Gohan leapt into the air, avoiding the attacks. However, as the humanoid's punch merely flew through air, the purple alien's momentum from his kick caused him to continue with his attack, hitting his ally in the chest.

"Hey, watch it!" that burly alien shouted.

"If you weren't in the way, I wouldn't have to!" the reptilian alien shouted back. However, before either could continue their shouting match, a cry from the other Cold soldiers caused them to look up into the air just in time to see Gohan holding his hands over his head, his fingers straight and stiff, and land right in front of the purple alien, slamming both of his hands on his shoulders.

What happened next completely caught everyone by surprise, especially Gohan. His strike had merely been meant to stun his opponent so he could launch a combo attack at him. What he got though, was the purple alien collapsing at his feet, the whites of his eyes showing his failure.

Standing with his hands in midair, about where they had landed on the alien, Gohan blinked in astonishment. After awhile he said "You know, when I said you were all rejects, I had only meant that as an insult. I didn't think that was what you all actually were."

"Why you?!" the humanoid alien shouted as he charged up his energy and fired a ki blast at him. In response, the saiyan dropped one of his arms and raised the other, catching the beam easily.

"Really, you shouldn't bother trying," the Son boy criticized before pulling his arm back and throwing the captured ball of ki back at its creator. The ball exploded in the shocked man's face, sending him flying over the gasping crowd of Karanese and into a tree, his legs hanging limply out of it.

"Kill them all!" Cui shouted, causing his remaining five men to charge the saiyan. However, just as Gohan turned to meet them, Tien and Videl zoomed right past him on either side.

Swinging a fist, Tien nailed one of the Cold soldiers in his face, the force of the punch whipping his head back so violently that his neck broke. His lifeless body fell to the ground soon after.

Videl chose a different approach as she took on her first opponent, holding one of her arms out to her side and clotheslining her foe. As he fell behind her, Videl bent her arm, jutting out her elbow. Moving her other hand, she gripped her balled up hand and thrust her elbow down, ramming it right into her opponent's unguarded chest. When he hit the ground, he didn't get back up.

Not hesitating, the Satan girl caught sight of her next foe closing in on her, swinging a kick at her. Shifting her body, she dodged the blow and then latched her arms around the appendage. Using the alien's momentum, she swung him down, slamming into the ground.

Turning her body then, Videl swept her foe off the ground and threw him at a lunging alien, their bodies crashing into each other and dropping to the ground. Gathering her ki quickly, she held out her right arm and extended her index finger.

With a call of "Dodon Ray!" a thin bright beam fired from her finger and hit the two aliens, piercing their bodies with the attack.

Moving her head to aside, the Satan girl caught sight of Tien with the last soldier. He was behind the man with one of his arms wrapped around the alien's neck, his other arm making sure his opponent didn't break his lock. Then with a violent twist, he broke the man's neck, letting him drop to the ground harmlessly.

"Not bad," Gohan commented as he approached them, slightly amused. "But I do remember telling you two I'd take care of this."

"We couldn't let you have all the fun," Tien replied with a smirk, the same one appearing on Videl's lips.

At that point, all three turned their attention to Cui, who was now cowering on his throne, his eyes wide open with fear. "No…please…don't kill me…" he pleaded.

"Now he uses please," Videl said, putting both of her hands on her hips. "What do you think guys?"

"Well, he did ask nicely," Tien said, looking thoughtful.

That caused the Son boy to sigh a bit touchily. "You humans. You choose the strangest times to be nice."

"I take it the big, bad saiyan warrior wants to kill him," Videl said teasingly.

It was then that Cui spoke up. "A saiyan with humans? Didn't they beat your kind awhile—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a ki blast flew right into his head, incinerating it as well as making a nice circle in the back of his absurd chair. His decapitated body slumped in the seat as the neck smoldered.

Gohan's eye kept twitching even after he had blown the alien's head off, one of his hands still in midair. "Why, oh why, does everyone keep mentioning that?!" he shouted. "Everywhere I go, it's 'saiyans lost to humans, you must be cupcakes'. When will they get it through their heads that that doesn't matter!"

That was when two soft hands crawled onto the angry saiyan's arm, slowly lowering it. Once it was down, Videl moved in to stand next to him, looking at him in amusement. "Calm down Gohan, you know they're nobodies that can't think for themselves. You just have to make them learn the hard way is all."

Though still a bit peeved, Gohan looked down to the Satan girl and grumbled "I'm gonna have to run all over the universe to set the record straight for that damn detail to die."

"Well then, you're gonna have to do that after we bring Vegeta back," Videl replied before wrapping her arms around him, giving him a hug. "I'll even help you."

Gohan didn't answer, only moving one of his arms to wrap around the Satan girl. The two just stood in silence after that, not even noticing the bewildered looks the Karanese were giving them.

* * *

After a day's worth of maintenance and being treated as heroes, the group of saiyans and humans were leaving Karan with the blessings of its people. Though, it had been a bit difficult to get Erasa on the ship after she saw some of the Karanese children. She had carried on and on about how cute they were and wanted to know if she could keep a couple of them.

Fortunately, they managed to talk her out of it. A few mentions of having to care for them from Videl, mainly about a certain way of feeding and cleaning up after them, and the blonde had changed her mind. She wasn't too fond of using her assets for their intended use or seeing what came out their backsides. Of course, she never did realize that she didn't have to treat them like infants.

Who ever knew Erasa didn't have enough brains to make that connection?

Well, regardless if she did or didn't, the desired outcome had been achieved; they were back in space, childless, and making headway to the next location of the artifact they sought.

But that still didn't stop the discussion Gohan was forcing down Trunks and Goten's throats.

"You guys have had this more than I have," the older saiyan was saying, much to the distaste of the younger two. "But I've had all I can take about people calling the saiyan race pathetic."

"And what exactly are we suppose to do about it?" Trunks replied sarcastically. "It's not like we can change everybody's opinion about it."

"So you want to be badmouth every time the word 'saiyan' leaves our mouths? You want our pride to be rubbed in the dirt because we lost a war that we didn't even get to fight in?"

That had caught the oddly colored saiyan off guard. "That's not what—"

"You know, I'm tired of it too," Goten interrupted. "We're a great race and just because we lost one war, just one, we're the laughing stock of the universe! No one has received as much crap as we have for it."

Gohan smirked. Who knew his little brother would agree with him? He tended to not want to do much of anything if he didn't have to, that is outside of fighting. Even then, he lacked the motivation nowadays. Perhaps that period when they were struggling to survive back home had something to do with him even being active in the first place.

"Hey, I'm sick of it too, but what can we do?" Trunks tried to persuade. "Gather everyone in the galaxy and blast them to hell?"

A passing glance between the two Son boys made the last royal saiyan take back his statement. "Never mind, forget I said that."

"While I like that idea," Gohan began, slightly wistful, "we probably couldn't pull it off. What I did have in mind though, is that every time we get the chance to change that perception, we take it. If the humans want to go off saving everything that crawls, we go and help. That way we can prove our saiyan might and word will spread about it."

"That's a good idea," Goten agreed though there was a bit of reluctance in his eyes. Damn that laziness of his.

Trunks, however, seized on that feeling. "Why should we risk our necks for a bunch of people that can't even defend themselves? If they're not strong enough to do so, then they should be wiped out."

Gohan cocked an eyebrow. "Survival of the strongest, you mean?"

"Exactly."

"But if other races saw a saiyan backing down from a fight, then that whole wimp image would be attached even tighter," the older saiyan argued.

"That's true…" Trunks relented. "Fine, I'll help, but only until we get rid of that image. Then the universe can take care of its own butt."

"I can agree with that," Goten added.

"Fair enough," Gohan said. "Now go do whatever it is you two do."

The two teens didn't waste anytime taking that chance, heading down different hallways. While Gohan didn't know where Trunks was going, he was pretty sure Goten was heading towards the bedrooms. Probably to find Erasa, he assumed. His brother was becoming more and more of a sex fiend with every passing day.

Must've been the woman spell again. First himself and now Goten. Before anyone would know, every man would be under it, short of them being…well…interested in something other than women.

Perhaps those were the smart ones.


	13. Over

"What is that thing?"

It didn't matter which one of them had said that aloud as that was the question that was on all of the minds of the saiyan/human group as they stood and stared out of the main window. Before them, a large grey…_thing_…looked like it was trying to swallow a planet whole. Though they didn't have a view on the other side of the unfortunate world, they had a good idea that the grey ameba-like creature had already covered it.

"Well, that place is lost," Trunks finally said, tearing his eyes off the spectacle and moving towards a chair.

"How can you say that?" Videl demanded, looking at the oddly colored saiyan. "You don't know how long that thing's been trying to eat that planet. It's probably been like that for weeks"

"True, but it could've been doing that for barely five minutes too," Trunks countered.

"He's got a point Videl," Tien agreed. "And it's not like we can go around saving every helpless planet we come across."

"We can at least try," the Satan girl argued.

"We can have a look around," Gohan suggested then. "We can always leave if there's nothing we can do."

"And if there's something we can do?" Trunks asked.

"Then we do it."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Quit your bellyaching," Gohan said humorously. "A little bit of exercise won't hurt you."

"That's what you say," the young saiyan grumbled.

Any resistance to the idea ended soon after that, the main opposition being put to rest quite easily. Altering their course, they headed towards the doomed-apparent planet.

"Sixteen, try shooting that thing when we get close," Gohan said, looking over the pilot seats that were currently occupied by the android and Tien.

"Understood," was the giant's reply.

Minutes drug on as the ship closed in on the grey anomaly. The closer they got to it, the more detail they could pick out. To say it was an organism was wrong as a more mechanical design became noticeable. But with the way it moved and acted, one couldn't deny some sentience to it.

It was then that Sixteen activated the ship's main weapons and opened fired, twin purple lasers flying towards the thing. Everyone held their breath as they watched the beams make contact, an explosion of flames erupting.

Before anyone on board could do anything, the grey thing retaliated, several yellow laser beams flying back at them.

Sixteen immediately took evasive maneuvers, dodging as each beam roared by them. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. Even though they dodged a few of the beams, the ship was soon being torn apart by the barrage, eruptions rocking the ship. The control room was soon bathed in a red light as an alarm went off.

"Sixteen, get us out of here!" Tien cried out as he braced himself in his chair.

"I can't!" the android shouted back. "Two of our engines have been taken out! The ship can't take too much more damage!"

That was when Gohan took charge of the situation. Somehow managing to keep his position slightly behind the pilot seats, his hands gripping onto the tops of them, the saiyan thrust himself towards the control panel and grabbed the thruster stick. Easing it forward, the ship began making its way towards the planet, despite only using one engine.

"Gohan, what are you doing?!" Tien demanded.

"I'm getting us out of this," the saiyan replied calmly. "We're gonna make it to that planet before the ship is torn apart."

"Are you crazy?!" Goten yelled. "There's no way our ship can make it through the atmosphere!"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

That not only silenced the younger Son, but everyone else in the room. "We'll make up a plan once we're out of this deathtrap," Gohan finally said.

No one protested that decision.

* * *

A headache greeted Videl as she awoke. Above her, a green sky hovered, looking down at her sprawled form. Slowly, the dark headed girl pushed herself into a seated position, taking note of the blue grass surrounding her as well as the green waters. If she hadn't known any better, she would've said she was on Namek again.

That, though, she was sure she wasn't. An emergency stop on a planet being consumed by some metallic creature had ended badly as the ship tore itself apart after breaking through the atmosphere. How the Satan girl had survived, she didn't know. The fact that she was now on a doomed planet didn't help matters either.

After awhile, she stood on her feet, albeit wobbly. It took a moment for her to regain her balance, but once she did, she immediately spotted two of her comrades; Trunks and Tien.

There was no sign of anyone else.

Slowly, she approached the men, who were standing at the shore line of the island they were on; looking out towards the horizon. The sound of the blue grass crinkling underneath her boots alerted the two to her awaken presence as they turned their heads to look at her.

"Videl, glad you're awake," Tien greeted her, followed by Trunks nodding his head.

"Thanks," the girl replied. "Where is everyone?"

"Separated in the crash," the bald human answered, turning his gaze back to the horizon. Videl soon stood next to him.

"I hope they're alright," she spoke. "Especially Erasa. She's not fit to handle this kind of situation."

"As long as she's with one of the others, she'll be okay," Trunks said. "Right now though, we need to worry about getting another ship. That's what Gohan or Goten are probably thinking, so we'll meet up sooner or later."

"And where are we gonna look?" Videl asked. "If this place is anything like Namek, I really doubt we'll find some alien base here."

"That thing swallowing the planet probably might have one," Trunks replied. "After getting that close look at it, I really doubt that it's a living creature."

"Shall we get started then?" Tien said.

* * *

Compared to the situation of Trunks, Tien, and Videl; Goten, Sixteen, and Erasa's was a lot less favorable. At the moment, the blonde girl was hiding behind the young saiyan's body as he and the android stood in fighting stances.

Before the three, a small group of robots stood. Big and bulky, their white metal exteriors gleamed from the sunlight. They seemed to have a normal body construction with arms, legs, and a head; but there were obvious differences. Their "hands" as it were looked more like three fingered talons as well as their feet. A big red circle glowed in the middle of their faces.

To top it all off, they weren't very friendly.

"These friends of yours?" Goten asked Sixteen.

"Not that I'm aware," was the giant's reply.

"You'll protect me, right Goten?" Erasa asked fearfully.

"I'll try, but you're gonna have to take a few steps back. I can't really fight if you're gonna be hugging my waist the whole time."

Almost immediately, Erasa pulled back her arms, which were holding onto the saiyan as if for dear life. With a slight grin of his face, the saiyan said "Alright Sixteen, let's show these guys what we're made of."

Not waiting for a reply, Goten launched himself at the mysterious robots, his android comrade performing the same action. With each holding an arm back, they threw a punch at the same robot, each blow landing simultaneously.

Neither hit made even a dent.

Suddenly, the red circle of the robot began to flicker for a moment, becoming full soon after. That was when the middle of its chest opened up, revealing a small cannon that was glowing bright yellow.

With a startled yelp from Goten, the saiyan jerked himself out of the line of fire, Sixteen doing the same just as a yellow beam fired from the cannon. A scream from Erasa told the Son boy that the beam had flown quite close to the girl, missing her by mere inches.

Suddenly, one of the robots appeared right behind the saiyan, ramming its shoulder into his back and sending him flying towards Sixteen. In response, the android caught his flying comrade in his arms. That, however, left him wide open for attack as another robot appeared right behind him and slammed a fist into his back, sending him flying towards the ground, landing on top of his ally.

The robots weren't done though. As Sixteen slowly pushed himself off of Goten, he noticed one of them leaping high into the air, aiming to squash the two warriors underneath its bulk.

Reacting, Sixteen threw out one of his hands and fired an energy blast; the beam making contact with its target. To the android's dismay, however, the attack didn't destroy the robot, merely stopping it up in the air for a moment before it fought its way down the blast, intent on smashing the fighters.

Fortunately, Goten and Sixteen didn't stay in that spot for long, both using a burst of speed to disappear from sight, just as the human android gave up on his attack. The indestructible robot landed soon after, its intended mission unfulfilled.

Reappearing, both fighters stood in their original spots, Erasa immediately crawling up to hide behind them once more.

"That wasn't how I expected that to go," Goten said, staring down their metallic opponents.

"I must agree too," Sixteen replied. "They're much stronger than I anticipated."

"That other one even withstood your ki blast. Doesn't leave us very many options."

The android looked towards the saiyan. "That blast wasn't made of ki."

That caught Goten's attention. "What?"

"That blast. It wasn't made of ki. It comes from the central core of my body."

"Is that so?" the Son boy murmured as a plan began to form. "Okay Sixteen, new plan. I'm gonna try something on these buckets of bolts. I want you to stay with Erasa and make sure nothing happens to her. Got it?"

"Understood."

Concentrating, Goten focused his ki into his fists. Hopefully this idea of his would work. If not…well that would be one less option to choose from.

Letting out a war cry, the saiyan warrior charged the robots once more. Drawing back one of his fist, he raced towards the first robot he and Sixteen had attacked. At the last moment, he swung his punch…

…and like a knife cutting butter, his fist tore through the metallic body, pieces of the robot flying in different directions in the saiyan's wake. A small explosion occurred soon after, alerting Goten to the fact he had one less opponent to worry about.

Not hesitating, Goten ran towards the next robot, swinging his other fist, and obtaining the same result as last time. However, this time his robotic opponents had begun moving around, trying to become less easy targets for the warrior.

"Oh no you don't," Goten muttered under his breath as he used a burst of speed to disappear from sight, reappearing as he tore through another robot with his fist.

Before the saiyan or humans knew it, Goten had finished off the troupe of robots; their remains scattered around the battleground as smoke wafted off of them. The Son boy himself stood amidst the wreckage, panting slightly as he caught his breath.

"Goten…" Erasa said. "That was…amazing…"

Sixteen nodded his head slowly in agreement. "How were you able to do that?"

A long moment passed before the saiyan stood up straight and addressed his human comrades. "I focused my ki into my fists just before I attacked them. Should've guessed that would be their weak point from the get go."

That made the android look thoughtful. "So you're the only one among us that can fight these things?"

"From what you told me, yeah. Though I wouldn't recommend fighting every group we run into. It's a bit tiring using one's ki like that."

"We need to keep our presence hidden," the android summed up. "Where are we to head to?"

"If I know Trunks and Gohan, they're gonna make their way to a place to get a ship off of this rock. We should head that way too," Goten said. "And hopefully we don't run into more confrontations."

* * *

Gohan stood on top of a rocky edifice, looking out towards the horizon. Behind him, on the island below, the remains of a robot patrol dotted the landscape; faint traces of smoke dying off from the initial fight.

Much like Goten's group, he had also run into a patrol of robots. Fortunately it hadn't taken him long to figure out how to take them out as evidence of the wreckage behind him. That had been the third group he had encountered.

Currently, the saiyan warrior was trying to find the location of his comrades. From what he could tell, Goten had been fighting not too long ago. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell if there was anyone with him. It was possible Sixteen was with his brother but he couldn't assume that. It was always good not to assume anything in this circumstance.

Suddenly, he jerked his head to his left. Three power levels were over there and moving, one of them definitely Trunks. Focusing a little bit, he soon discovered Tien and Videl's ki signals moving with him. That was good; at least they all weren't by themselves like he was.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

Though the fighter couldn't detect that blonde girl his brother had been hanging around, he assumed she'd be around one of the warriors. She had an incredible knack for getting into favorable situations.

Once he had determined the status of his friends, he soon turned his attention to another matter. For quite some time, he had been having a gut wrenching feeling. Something wasn't right, but the saiyan just couldn't put his finger on it. What ever it was though, hopefully he was the one to run into it; he didn't want it finding one of his more unprepared compatriots.

Apparently, a deity had been listening to his wishes as he heard the sound of a person landing on the island come from behind him. Turning around, the Son boy was slightly perturbed by that feat. He hadn't even sensed the guy's approach.

Looking up at him, a silver metal man stood. He was of average height and lean. His most defining features were that of his chest, which protruded out from his body further than any person's chest should; two oddly shaped shoulder guards; and his head as the metal formed into something that looked like hair. Though the most obvious thing that stuck out from him were his eyes, or more like his eyeballs; a solid blue color emanating from them.

And then a very familiar, very shrill voice came from his metallic lips.

"Well, I never thought I'd run into saiyan garbage again."

Gohan's eyes widen. While it had been a very brief moment in his life, he knew that voice all too well. Just when you thought you had gotten rid of a Tuffle, they always came back for revenge.

Removing the shock from his system, Gohan narrowed his eyes. "So the humans didn't destroy all of you. Pity."

What ever good spirit the Tuffle had been in disappeared. "No, they didn't. They did do a good job killing the rest of my people though, and I can assure you that I will have my revenge on them once I'm done with you."

Gohan smirked. "That's some tough talk coming from a lowly Tuffle."

"Watch your tongue!" the Tuffle snarled. "I am the Tuffle King Baby and I will crush you monkey!"

"And how will you go about that? Your last attempt doing go over well. Just look at yourself."

Rage was clearly written on Baby's face; his hands visibly shaking in anger. "Yes, I had underestimated the Earthlings. I was left floating out in space half dead after the attack. Fortunately, the Big Gete Star found me. Through it I have reconstructed my body, making myself even more powerful than you can dream."

"The Big Gete Star?" Gohan questioned.

That caused the Tuffle to smirk. "That's right monkey. You didn't notice it gobbling up this planet from space? I thought you would since you attacked it."

The saiyan narrowed his eyes. "So that's what that thing is. And I guess you came to find out who was on the ship."

"That is correct."

"And your plans with this star?"

"That's easy," Baby responded. "I will consume each planet I find with it and use the natural resources of it to increase my power. Once I've established my ultimate power, I'll return the Tuffle race to greatness!"

"That's what you think," Gohan said slowly settling into a fighting stance. "Your days are numbered low life; I'll see to it myself."

And with that, the saiyan launched himself at his opponent.


	14. Dark That Follows

Letting out a war cry, Gohan swung a fist at the Metallic Baby. Reacting, the Tuffle used his left hand and grabbed the saiyan by the wrist of his flying punch, and pushed it to his opposite side. With the blow deflected, Baby released his hold on his opponent's arm and balled his hand into a fist, backhanding the saiyan.

The hit had caught Gohan off guard, causing him to drift backwards a bit, leaving him open for attack. Taking advantage of the opening, Baby began throwing jabs with his right fist, nailing the Son boy in the face repeatedly.

Keeping that advantage up, Baby sent a few more jabs before raising his left hand up, the fingers rigidly curled to point towards his palm, said palm exposed. With a thrust, he released a shockwave from the hand, sending Gohan flying away, imbedding him into the small mountain he had been standing on only moments ago.

Not letting up, the Tuffle used a burst of speed, appearing before the stunned saiyan with the fingers on both of his hands rigidly curled like before. Quickly, he began throwing his hands one at a time towards his opponent; never making contact with the saiyan's body as he sent focused shockwaves into him. Once he had unleashed the attack he would pull back his arm before throwing it back out, repeating his action.

All the while, Gohan was being forced further and further into the rock, slowly losing his temper. He was not gonna let this Tuffle scum beat him this easily! Quickly gathering his ki, he forced it up his throat, firing the ki blast from his mouth.

Though surprised, Baby disappeared before beam hit him, reappearing a small distance away with both of his hands out before him. An ominous orb of purple ki appeared in his hands soon after.

"Die monkey boy!" Baby shouted as he fired the blast.

Straining himself, Gohan wrenched his left arm out of his rocky encasement, just in time to slam his fist into the ki blast and deflect it; the beam flying right back at the Tuffle much to his astonishment. This time though, the blast made contact with the android's face, exploding on contact as smoke covered his last known location.

However, Gohan wasn't done. With a quick burst of ki, the encasing rock around him disintegrated, allowing him to leap back onto the ground. Raising his hands to his forehead, hands perpendicular to each other, the saiyan charged up his ki and fired his attack. "Masenko Ha!"

The moment the blast tore into the drifting smoke, a much bigger explosion erupted, flames destroying the island instantly.

Due to that, Gohan had to retreat high into the air, staring down at the dying flames. He knew that blast wouldn't be enough to take that damned Tuffle out, but it would give him something to think about.

If that had been under consideration, the saiyan wouldn't know as the person in question suddenly appeared before him, a leg pulled back and ready to be swung.

If it hadn't been for his speed, the kick would've sent him into a world of hurt. At the last second, Gohan managed to block the kick, much to his opponent's surprise. The Son boy took a bit of gratification in that since he was sure the Tuffle hadn't been expecting him to move so quickly.

But that was all that he was able to think about since he and Baby began trading blows with each other, each punch and kick flying at top speed until they were blocked, parried, dodged, or landed on their target.

That stalemate wouldn't continue though as Baby got irritated with being matched. Once again using a burst of speed, he disappeared as Gohan threw a punch, the fist flying through thin air.

Caught a little off guard, the saiyan looked around quickly and found his opponent a small distance away in front of him. Growling, the warrior raced at the robotic man to continue their fight.

However, Baby had other plans. Smirking, he raised one of his hands up calmly, one of the fingers extended. With a quick gathering of energy, he shouted "Finger Bang Barrage!"

Instantly, a continuous rapid fire of small ki balls shot from his finger tip, flying at high speeds to hit Gohan head on. The moment each ki ball hit the saiyan, they exploded, sending a jolt of pain through his body. Soon, Gohan was being nailed on every part of his body as each and every ki ball slammed and exploded on him; his body jerking around from each impact.

And as sudden as the attack began, it came to an end, allowing Gohan to drift backwards a bit before falling head first to the island below.

The Tuffle, on the other hand, wouldn't let him touch the soil again…at least alive anyway. Holding both of his hands over his head, a black orb of ki appeared with electricity dancing all over it; an ominous blue aura radiating from it. "I hope you'll have a good time in Hell," the mechanical Tuffle shouted in glee. "My Revenge Death Ball will make sure your entrance there is much better than your exit from this world!"

It was a knee jerk reaction. Gohan jerked his head to look dead on at his opponent and fired twin ki blasts from his eyes; the thin beams racing at Baby until they hit him on his right shoulder.

While the attack wasn't enough to severely hurt the android, it did send a sharp pain through his system, providing a lapse in his concentration as he lost control of his energies and the death ball dissipated. Hissing in pain, Baby gripped his damaged shoulder.

Using his newly bought time, Gohan twisted his body in midair and flared his aura, flying as fast as he could to the island below the two fighters. Landing in a crouched position, the saiyan turned his head to look back at the android and nearly swore a dozen curse words. Heading right at him, another barrage of ki balls were homing in, ready to send the Son boy into a world of pain all over again.

Immediately, Gohan ran to his left, pumping his arms in stride with his legs. Behind him, he could hear the ki balls crashing into the ground and destroying chucks of the island; not to mention that each ball was landing right behind him so he felt the heat from the erupting flames.

Fortunately, Lady Luck decided to favor the saiyan. As he ran, he came up to a very large boulder and hid behind it, listening as the ki balls rammed themselves into the rocky barrier. At the rate the attack was going, the Son boy's protection wouldn't last much longer. He had to get out of there soon or he'd be a sitting duck for that annoying Tuffle.

It didn't take him long to start eyeing the water that surrounded the piece of land he was on. The longer he thought about it, the more he figured his best chance at survival was within its depths. Taking a deep breath, the saiyan plunged into sea, just as his rock barrier completely shattered, allowing the few remaining ki balls to plunge underneath the watery waves.

Gohan sank further and further into the water, trying to figure out his next move. Consciously lowering his ki, he was pretty sure that Baby couldn't track him, at least for the time being. The saiyan needed to land a devastating blow against the guy if he wanted to stand a chance at winning the fight but everything he had done had been successfully countered.

Twisting his body, he began swimming towards Baby's last known location. Hopefully the guy would still be where he was when he had launched his Finger Bang Barrage.

Time flowed by the Son boy's arms pushed the water around him, his legs kicking out in time with his strokes. Soon he arrived at his intended location and was ecstatic that he could make out Baby's grey form from beneath the sea's surface.

Although he had fretted about the Tuffle moving around as he swam, it had given him the time needed to come up with the ideal attack for this situation.

* * *

Baby was slowly losing his patience. That monkey had been hiding himself for far too long and it was irritating the android to no end.

Fortunately, he knew how to deal with his most hated enemy.

"Come out coward!" he shouted out. "I know you're hiding somewhere like the sniveling weakling you are! Come out and face me! Fight me like a man! You're nothing but a disgrace to your lowly race!"

There, that should've pissed the guy off. He just needed to wait a few more seconds and the dirty monkey would come out roaring and try to rip his head off, not that he could.

Nothing happened.

Another growl escaped his lips. That should've worked. Saiyans were notorious for having large egos stemming from their warrior culture. Every single insult was designed to push all the right buttons to make one see red. Either this saiyan was truly a coward or he knew how to bite his tongue. Either way, it just piled on more fury on the Tuffle.

Suddenly, a barrage of ki blasts exploded from the sea beneath him, causing Baby's eyes to widen. That crafty monkey had been spending all that time to put himself in position to attack him the whole time, the android realized. As beams flew all around him, it didn't take much effort to actually dodge the ones that actually came within striking distance.

A smirk came onto the Tuffle's face. As good of a striking point the saiyan had chosen, he hadn't factored in the light distortion properties of water. Though he could see him, it was quite possible he was misjudging his aim terribly; a silver lining in his surprise attack.

Soon the attack came to an end. With Baby unscathed by the miscalculation, he knew he had an opportune moment. Though he wasn't too sure where the exact location of the saiyan was, he'd be sure to make adjustments to his calculations. Holding both his hands above his head, a very large ki ball appeared over them. If he couldn't pinpoint the monkey, he'd just send an attack that would cover a lot of ground and ensure his demise!

It was due to his focus on his attack that caused him to miss the light change around him. A bright yellow light seemed to cover the area, creating an ominous feeling that Baby was oblivious to. All around him, hundreds of ki balls hovered, waiting for their cue to destroy their target.

A second later and every single one of them closed in on the android.

A large explosion occurred as the deadly ki balls impacted Baby, catching him by surprised. A second explosion soon followed as the energy in his own attack destabilized and ruptured, due to the onslaught of the ki balls.

* * *

Winds raced all over the planet, battering Trunks, Tien, and Videl as they hovered in midair. Holding their arms in front of their faces for protection, none of the three knew where this awesome wind came from or its cause.

"What's happening?!" Tien shouted, although his words were lost as the roaring storm claimed his words and casted them into oblivion.

After awhile, the winds died down, allowing the three warriors to resume their prior stances. Looking in the direction that the sudden rush of air came from, they could see a boding glow on the horizon.

"What is that?" Videl finally spoke.

"No clue," Tien replied. "But what ever it is, it can't be good."

"Thanks Sherlock. I would've never guessed that."

"Anytime," the bald human said, ignoring the Satan girl's sarcasm.

"Well, we need to keep going," Trunks said. "I don't want to run into what ever caused that and we still need to get a ship."

"Yeah, yeah," Videl muttered. 'No wonder Erasa got tired of this guy. He's only got a one tracked mind,' she thought.

* * *

A blooming mushroom cloud covered the area, taking its sweet time in dispersing. Before it, hovering over the water, Gohan watched his latest masterpiece of destruction.

Sometime in the near future, he needed to thank Piccolo for that technique. There were so many uses for it, it was almost mind-boggling.

Now though, he needed to get back on his mission; find a ship and get the hell off of this desolate planet. With the head of that Gete Star thing gone, it should be a whole lot simpler.

However, before he could even start moving, a hand shot out of the water beneath him and grabbed him around his ankle. With a powerful jerk, Gohan was plunged into the sea, completely off his guard. Because of that, he didn't have a good lungful of air.

Who ever, or what ever, had pulled him down had drug him far beneath the surface before releasing its hold and disappearing. That was the least of the Son boy's worries though as he began his struggle to get back to the surface; the burning sensation in his lung from lack of air was really starting to get to him.

Just before he had broken into the fresh air, a sparkle twinkled in the corner of his eye. Whether it was some long lost treasure or some wreckage of a crashed ship, he didn't care, especially as refreshing air filled his lungs.

Gohan didn't stop there though. He swam his way to a nearby island and collapsed on its shore, coughing up water that had gotten into his system. He needed to recover himself before attempting anything else.

Unfortunately, feet landed right next to him, followed by a mighty blow at the back of his head that smashed his face into the ground. Darkness followed soon after.

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: Sorry I didn't answer your review last chapter. Was a little busy and completely forgot. As to your review, an interesting position for the saiyans I must agree lol. The life of an anti-hero wouldn't you say?


	15. It Hurts

Huh, not much of a response to the last chapter. Hopefully this one does better.

* * *

When Gohan awoke, he found himself in a less than ideal position. Suspended in air by electrical wires in the middle of a dimly lit room, the saiyan was groggily getting his bearings. He didn't know where he was but it couldn't be a very good place for him.

"It's about time you woke up."

There was that shrilly voice again, the one of Baby's. Jerking his head up, the saiyan warrior was taken back by what he found.

A mechanical nightmare was the best way to describe it. A large _thing_ composed of various scrap metal and the same electrical wires that bounded the saiyan, stood. Though it seemed to need help standing due to a taunt, stray wires leading away from a random place on its body; it watched him with a very familiar blue eyeball. In fact, a whole side of its face looked to be of skin, with some white hair poking out; the complete opposite from the wires covering the other half.

"Baby?" Gohan questioned wearily.

"That's correct," the thing said smugly. "And you got it on the first try too. Perhaps you're not just some dumb monkey after all."

Gohan made to lunge at the deformed Tuffle but soon found himself behind held firmly by his restraints. This only made Baby laugh at his useless attempt. "Aww, did I make the little monkey mad? How naughty of me."

"Just keep talking, Tuffle," the saiyan spat, malice in his voice. "Cause when I get free, there won't be enough of you left to even consider talking when I'm finished with you."

The shrill laughter of Baby echoed throughout the room. "That's what you think! You're in the heart of the Big Gete Star, where I am master! You won't be getting loose anytime soon. As a matter of fact, you'll be lucky to be alive after I've consumed this planet."

Gohan merely glared back.

Taking his silence as if he had made some remark, Baby carried on. "You're probably wondering what I've got in store for you, monkey; and I am one never to disappoint my audience."

"Do your worst, Tuffle."

"Oh, that I will. Before I'm done with you, you'll be begging for death. If I feel merciful, I may grant you the request."

And with that, electricity began dancing around the wires holding Gohan before they became alive with the electric bolts; the saiyan being viciously shocked in the process.

All the Son boy could do was scream.

* * *

"Alright; we're here. Now what?"

Staring at a giant grey wall, Trunks, Tien, and Videl floated in midair as they contemplated their next move. It almost seemed they hadn't quite thought that far in their planning.

"Well, we have to get in somehow," Tien said, taking in the sight. "Perhaps we should look for an entrance?"

"And then what? Knock on the door and ask nicely to be let in?" Videl replied sarcastically.

"It was just a thought Videl. No need to be impolite about it."

The Satan girl rolled her eyes. "How about you, Trunks? You got any bright ideas?"

Instead of getting an answer though, the oddly color saiyan remained quiet. It took a few seconds, but when the two humans realized he wouldn't be responding, they turned their heads to see Trunks with his hands out in front of him, his fingers spread out with the tips of his index fingers and thumbs touching.

"Trunks! What are you doing?!" Videl chastise.

"What's it look like? I'm making an entrance," Trunks replied. Before either human could speak then, much to their dismay, the saiyan gathered his ki and fired the ki blast; the ki blast flying straight into the wall and exploding.

When the smoke cleared from the crash site, a gaping hole appeared, just waiting to be used.

"There's your entrance," Trunks said curtly before flying over to his saiyan-made door.

"Gotta hand it to him, he knows how to get things done," Tien commented before he and his pupil followed.

The inside of the place was dark; very dark. It was actually ridiculous how dark it was as the three fighters stumbled around the place. Every so often there would be a dimly lit light but other than that, the three were as blind as bats. It was because of that reason that something snuck up on them and latched onto the Satan girl, crying out "Videl!"

To say Videl was startled was an understatement; the dark headed girl screaming from alarm. Even as Trunks and Tien whipped around to fend off Videl's attacker, the Satan girl was starting to notice the very familiar arms wrapped around her; not to mention the body that was pressing up against her.

Turning her head to look behind her, the daughter of Satan found the blonde head of Erasa as she snuggle her face into the girl's back. "Oh Vi, I was so worried about you!" the blonde exclaimed.

That was when Goten and Sixteen appeared out of the darkness, both looking amused. "I should've known she'd find them before us," the saiyan said.

A small smile crawled onto Sixteen's lips. "Quite right. She must have some sort of sensor for Videl."

"And what took you all so long?" Trunks spoke up, drawing attention from the embarrassed Videl. "I was starting to wonder when you'd show up."

"Gee, I could say the same Trunks," Goten replied cheekily.

"What's that suppose to mean?!"

"Oh you know what it means, sword boy."

"Guys!" Videl interrupted. "We've got bigger problems than you two taking shots at each other. We need to find a ship and get out of here."

"You're forgetting one thing," Goten pointed out.

That confused the Satan girl. What could she be forgetting? They were all here and they needed to find a ship. That should be enough right?

"Hey, where's Gohan?" Erasa suddenly asked.

That's when it hit her. "Wasn't he with you?"

"No, we thought he'd be with you."

A sick feeling grew in the Satan girl's stomach. Where could that boy possibly be?

* * *

Smoke was rising from Gohan's body as he panted from the latest shock treatment. All the while, Baby was cackling like a mad man, thoroughly enjoying his torture session. "How do you like that, saiyan?!" he yelled manically. "There's more where that came from! Just say the word and I'll give it to ya!"

Gohan just glared at the twisted man. He was gonna get out of these restraints sooner or later and he'd make the guy pay. He just needed the right opportunity.

"Oh? Cat's got your tongue?" Baby taunted. "Here, let me help loosen it!"

Once again the electricity began to dance over the wires holding the Son boy before the shocking sensation made itself painfully known, sending Gohan into another fit of screaming. It was like his whole body was on fire only worse. Whereas a fire would burn the same spot over and over since there was no way for one to move away from it, the shocking was burning his body in different places repeatedly at the same time.

An eternity passed before Baby relented his torment, allowing Gohan to being the recovery process all over again. However, before anything else could happen, another being made itself known.

"Sire," a mechanized Baby said as he stood in plain sight. "I have disturbing news."

Growling, Baby said "What is it? Can't you see I'm having fun here?"

For a second, Gohan could've sworn the mechanical Baby gulped. "Yes sire, but I think you need to see this. There's a disturbance at the coordinates X5960."

Crossly, the twisted Tuffle gave into the request. In midair to the Tuffle's left, a screen appeared, showing the sight of a ferocious battle.

From what Gohan could see, there appeared to be hundreds of the robotic Babys, much to the saiyan's astonishment. How many of those things were there in this place? If that many could be out fighting, then how many could be inside this planet eating…_thing_?

However, that thought was pushed aside as a giant ball of green flames erupted, a blinding green light shinning into the room. Once it died down, Gohan's eyes widened in dread.

There on the screen was the last person he had wanted to see. Laughing like a madman was Broly, taking on the army of silver Babys. Destroying them surprisingly easily; a fist breaking through the head of one robot; a foot crushing into the chest of another; even his head was getting into the action as Broly held up one of the Babys and slammed his head into its face, a very defined dent resulting from the blow.

"What is that thing?!" Baby shouted. "How can he be destroying my copies so easily?! Where are the foot soldiers?!"

"Destroyed," the android replied. "They were the first ones to go when he first arrived. We sent them all and he destroyed them just as quickly. That's when we sent your doubles out. You're seeing the battle progressing right now."

"Damn him!" Baby screeched. "Damn him to Hell! I'll destroy that brute if it's the last thing I do!"

Looked like the Tuffle was losing his cool, Gohan noted. Perhaps he should throw some more fuel on the fire.

"Never thought I'd be glad to see Broly," he muttered.

"What was that?!" Baby shouted. "Broly? That's a saiyan name! There's no way a dirty monkey can be doing this!"

"Oh really?" Gohan said, just as he summoned up his ki, a golden aura bursting from his body and shredding the wiry restraints on his body. Landing on the ground in his Super Saiyan form, he immediately focused his energy, letting out a war cry and breaking though the Super Saiyan barrier; ascending to the next level.

As the electricity danced on his body, Gohan saw the android form of Baby rushing at him. That would be its last mistake.

Gathering his energy, he thrust his hand in front of him and fired a huge ki blast, the beam nailing the android head on.

It was a slow process as the energy covered the robotic Tuffle, but it finally paid off as it was engulfed by the energy; an explosion of flames erupting on it.

"Die saiyan!" Baby shouted as electrical wire flew out of nowhere and wrapped around the Ascended Saiyan. To Gohan though, it was merely a desperate attempt to delay his inevitable demise. With a cry, his aura vaporized the wires, much to his opponent's dismay. Then with a quick burst of speed, Gohan disappeared from sight, reappearing in front of Baby's twisted body; his fist firmly implanted in the Tuffle's face.

Due to the force of the punch, the wires holding up Baby's body snapped, dropping him feebly to the ground. The Tuffle could only lay on the ground, just as helpless as a newborn babe, the golden saiyan walking up to him and standing to his side.

"This is the end for you, Tuffle," Gohan deadpanned, looking to be the carrier of death that Baby had feared since his birth. It was then that the saiyan smirked at him. "I told you there wouldn't be much left of you once I've finished with you."

Indescribable rage swelled within the Tuffle. "Damn you! I'll kill you like the dirty monkey you are! Just watch me! I'll—"

Before he could carry on, Gohan raised his hand in front of him, a ball of gathered ki in his hand. It only took a second for the blast to erupt from his hand and consume the pitiful Tuffle, a small explosion followed by a constant cloud of smoke marking his finally resting place.

* * *

It had taken awhile but the mixed group of saiyans and humans had finally found what appeared to be a hanger. The only problem was that there wasn't a ship to be had in the whole place; not exactly what they had been hoping for.

Instead, the room was filled with equipment, mostly machines with very interesting looking tools attached to them. To describe most if any of them would've taken a life time; not exactly something they were up to do at the moment.

"So what do we do now?" Goten asked aloud.

"Beats me," Trunks answered. "I guess we're stuck."

"Well, this isn't the place to be stuck."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Not really sure. Do you know that, Trunks?"

Slowly, the humans of the group drifted off. "Looks like we've lost them," Tien commented.

"Unfortunately," Videl said as she rolled her eyes. "They just have the worst timing to be doing that. It's almost as if they hadn't been through a war at all."

"I think that was Gohan's intention," the bald human replied.

"Gohan? Why in the world would he want them acting like that?"

"You'd have to ask him. Who knows what goes on in his mind."

As the two human fighters talked, Erasa drifted off, staring intently on the machinery. "Hey guys?" she called out after awhile. "Could we use any of this to build a ship?"

"What are you talking about, Erasa?" Videl said, a bit low on her patience.

"Well, this place looks like one of those factory places, right? Couldn't we use some of the stuff here to build a ship?" the blond answered.

"Erasa, do you know how long it takes to build a spaceship?"

"No."

"Well it takes a very long time and I doubt we want to be staying here and longer than necessary."

"Hold on," Sixteen piped up suddenly. "I believe Erasa may have an idea."

"Huh?" the Satan girl blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Look at all of the equipment. If what my databases are correct, we could reasonably make a ship here. We just need to find the main computer and access the mainframe," the android explained.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M GAY?!" Trunks shouted.

That comment caught all of the humans' attention as they looked at the arguing saiyans. "I don't think they'll be of much use," Tien said after awhile. "I guess we need to start looking around."

It took awhile, along with the ever escalating verbal attacks from Goten and Trunks, some of which were very colorful; the humans finally found the computer. With Sixteen hovering over it, the android quickly accessed it and began searching for anything that could be of use to them. Fortunately, he found exactly what they wanted shortly and began sending in instructions.

Beside the monitor, a glass window that reached from the floor to the ceiling stood. As Sixteen finished the design requests, robotic arms on the other side of the glass began to move; capturing the attention of the group. Arms that had hands, drills, blowtorches, and other building tools attached were flying at incredible speeds. As the minutes ticked by, a ship similar to the one that had used before crashing on the planet appeared sans any colors other then grey.

"I have to say, this was one of your better ideas, Erasa," Videl conceded after awhile.

"Thanks Vi."

Moments later, the glass wall split at the middle and slide apart, revealing their newly created ship.

"Goten, if you don't shut up about that, I'm gonna make sure you have a one way ticket to see your dad again!" Trunks threatened.

"Hey, it's not my fault you ran away from a nearly nude girl," Goten said smugly.

Erasa immediately went red, much to the amazement of her dark headed friend. "Do they talk about that a lot?" she whispered.

"Yeah, Goten and Gohan tease the living dickens out of him," Videl replied.

Tien then cleared his throat, quite loudly too so as to catch the attention of the teen saiyans. Thankfully it did as they turned their heads to look at him. "Uhh guys; we've got a ship now, so perhaps we can get out of here?"

Both saiyans blinked. "Yeah, I guess we can do that," Goten finally said after awhile.

However, before anyone moved, a violent tremor shook the room, causing everyone to brace themselves; all except for Erasa as she fell to her knees. Once the shaking pacified, both saiyans were looking off in a direction, twin grins on their faces. "I think we've found Gohan," Trunks announced.

"We've got to go get him!" Videl practically shouted, heading towards one of the doors. That plan, however, was stopped as Goten grabbed her by her arm. "That won't be necessary," the boy stated.

"What do ya mean not necessary?" the Satan girl protested.

"Gohan'll be coming to us; me and Trunks will make sure of that," the boy said. "Now go back to the ship and watch us work."

Reluctantly, the dark headed girl gave in, making her way to the ship. In the meantime, both Goten and Trunks went into fighting stances, focusing their kis. With twin war cries, blazing auras surrounded the youths as their power levels skyrocketed.

The gust of wind that resulted from their power up hit their comrades, nearly blowing them off their feet. This time, thankfully, Erasa had latched onto Sixteen before the sudden blast, keeping her from flying into a wall.

It was unreal, the power levels those two were putting out. Between the four humans, they knew their saiyan allies were strong, but that belief was blown clear out of the water. It was incredible how much power they were throwing out.

And if they were this strong, how strong was Gohan?

Finally, their powering up came to an end, yet both saiyan maintained their current levels. It wasn't known for several minutes why they were doing this though; that was until tremors could be felt once more, growing stronger with each one that occurred.

Suddenly, the wall at the far end of the room exploded, a golden Gohan appear soon after, looking around the room. It didn't take long for his eyes to fall upon the powered up Trunks and Goten, and when they did, he immediately dropped out of his Super Saiyan form.

Striding over to them, just as the younger saiyans allowed their powers to drain away, Gohan said "I think we've overstayed our visit, boys. It's time we got out of here before bigger and badder people show up."

"I can agree with that," Trunks replied. "However, there's really not a door to get the ship out of here."

The older saiyan looked around. "I guess we're gonna have to make one then." Looking up to the ceiling, the Son boy gathered his ki as he raised one of his arms over his head. With a cry, he fired a large blast, the beam engulfing the entire roof as it made its journey through all the floors after it. What ever explosions that would've resulted were consumed by the rushing ki until Gohan let up his attack; smoke covering what use to be the ceiling.

After awhile, the smoke dissipated, revealing a large hole that went all the way through the behemoth of a ship; the green sky looking down on the group.

And as Gohan, Goten, and Trunks turned to head towards the ship, they were met by the stunned faces of Tien, Sixteen, Videl, and Erasa. From the looks the three saiyans were receiving, there was only one thing Gohan could say.

"What?"


	16. The Promise And The Threat

The welcoming sound of the engines humming filled the ship. Slowly, the spacecraft lifted off the ground, drifting up through the saiyan-made hole in the roof. The moment open sky met the ship, the engines went into overdrive, launching the craft up into the stratosphere; escaping the planet's gravitational field moments later.

As the planet disappeared behind them, the group of saiyans and humans let out a collective sigh of relief. Fleeing a planet with a homicidal maniac was very nerve wrecking, even if he didn't know they had been within a short distance of him.

However, there were a few questions lingering on one of the humans' minds, unsurprisingly it being Videl. Rotating in her chair to look at Gohan, the Satan girl asked "Okay, how in the hell did you get so strong? I know you were stronger than me back on Vegeta, but I've been fighting just as long as you have since and you completely outclass me."

Gohan cocked an eyebrow. "And you want to know why there's an even bigger gap between our powers?"

"That's right."

Leaning back in his chair, the saiyan put his hands behind his head as his elbows pointed outwards. "Well, I am a saiyan. My race was built for battle, so it's only natural that we get stronger with every fight we get into."

"Explain that," Videl said.

Tien, however, was the one to answer that. "Saiyans are a warrior race, that much you know. Because of that, their bodies are accustomed to fighting and thus they get stronger much more easily than you or I."

"There was even a saying amongst the old Earth forces," Sixteen added. "'If a saiyan doesn't kill you the first time, he'll definitely kill you the second time.' That was usually a good enough incentive to finish the job the first time."

"So you're saying that they get stronger with each fight they're in?" Videl questioned.

"Pretty much," Tien said.

All the while, Goten and Trunks copied the older saiyan's relaxed state, smirking as they heard the praise from their human counterparts. Even Gohan had one. When your one-time enemy could rattle off information on you, it was a very satisfying feeling.

"And no matter what I do, I'll never get stronger than them?" Videl said, sounding put out.

"Well if you train for a few centuries, you could overpower them," Tien commented. "There was once a time where I could fight Gohan evenly, but that's long gone. With every battle he comes out of, the more powerful he becomes. It's almost not fair."

"Why almost?" Erasa asked.

"Cause I'm not the one having to fight him."

The saiyans on board began to roar with laughter. "I never thought I'd hear a human say that," Goten said through laughs.

Though the girls looked on the three fighters oddly, Tien and Sixteen couldn't help the small smiles that crawled onto their faces.

* * *

"So we're all going in?" Tien asked as he turned off the ship's engines.

"That's right," Gohan answered as he moved towards the control room's door.

It had been nearly a week since their encounter with the Big Gete Star and they were now back on track with their search for the Time Milieu keys. Currently, their ship was resting right in front of a mountain, a cave at the base of it. It was within this cave that the next key was suppose to be.

"And why is everyone going again?" Trunks asked as he took his time getting to his feet.

"Well, we haven't had any dangerous encounters with some unsavory people, so it should be okay to leave the ship unguarded," the oldest saiyan answered. "Besides, I'm curious about those weird visions we've all had. I'd like to see what'll happen if we all go in."

"I like the sound of that," Videl piped up. It really didn't matter the reasoning behind her saiyan lover's idea, she wasn't gonna be left behind to be bored and impatient. That was a good thing in her book.

Gohan couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. He knew his dark headed firecracker would be thrilled to be out and about. Well, hopefully his generosity would be rewarded later.

As he exited the ship and headed towards the cave entrance, he looked back to see if everyone was behind him; a bit startled that Erasa was amongst their group. She was usually the one that wanted to stay on the ship when something big was going on. Perhaps she was getting some courage from his little brother or something.

Entering the cave, the Son boy was surprised to see the stone ground smoothed out. There were even markings of old stone tile, still resting where they had been placed. What ever race had used this cave had been very skilled in masonry, especially if a tile floor could last several millennia.

Looking up towards the roof, the predictable shapes of stalagmites could be made out. Taking in the walls, there wasn't anything peculiar about them. The absence of stalactites caught his eye after awhile.

Soon the group reached what looked like the back of the cave. However, there was an open stone doorway there; its insides pitched black.

"At least we know we're in the right place," Trunks muttered from the back.

Not stopping, Gohan led the procession into the dark depths. Surprisingly though, the hallway within the stone entrances wasn't very long. It was a short journey until the passageway glowed a dull blue color. Soon the corridor opened out onto a ledge and the seasoned warrior couldn't stop the gasp that came from his mouth.

The small ledge that the Son boy stood on jutted out of the wall of a large cavern. On the floor of the cavern, a seemingly endless labyrinth sat, an intimidating feeling welling up within the saiyan. About the only thing that wasn't part of the stone collection of walls was the staircase off the side of the ledge that led to the beginning of the maze.

"We're definitely in the right place," Trunks commented after awhile.

When no one saw fit to reply to the oddly colored saiyan, Gohan decided to keep their group moving, moving towards the staircase and descending it. The other followed soon after.

As the troupe moved, an unsettling vibe grew within their guts. It was almost as if they were waiting for something to happen. Yet none of them spoke of this, not that they needed to. They only needed to read each other's body language and they'd know what was on all of their minds.

Soon they reached the ground floor, which was an open area that led to the entrance of the maze. Steadily, they moved towards the entrance.

It was then that their collective gut feelings became reality. From the center of the floor, glowing symbols spread out, covering the open area within a small amount of time. Slowly, their glows began to intensify.

"Not again," Gohan muttered to himself as his world soon became blinding white.

However, the expected vision the saiyan was waiting for never materialized. Instead, he found himself standing in a long corridor that looked similar to the labyrinth he was trying to enter.

Great, the thing had thrown him randomly into the maze. That was just perfect.

Looking around, Gohan soon found he wasn't alone in the maze. Standing a few feet behind him was Videl, who was just coming out of her blinded daze. Unfortunately, everyone else was missing in action.

Well, at least he wasn't alone this time.

Approaching the girl, he put his hand on her shoulder and said "You okay Videl?"

At the moment, the Satan girl was finishing rubbing the spots from her eyes, though she wasn't too thrilled to be having to. "I'm just peachy Gohan," she said, "I just love having my eyeballs burned into crisps. It's my favorite pastime."

"Well, quit enjoying yourself. We have to get moving," the boy said before walking down the corridor; Videl following soon after.

"So where are we going?" Videl asked as they came to the end of the hallway and turned right.

"Well, we have to get that key," Gohan answered. "That's what everyone else is probably gonna do. First though, I want to get an idea of where we are. If I can see where the ledge is, then we'll have some sort of bearing."

"Sounds like a plan," the dark headed girl said. "Lead away."

Gohan would've chuckled at that had he not decided to turn into an adjoining passageway. Because of that turn, he saw from the corner of his eye a shadow moving on the floor at the end of the hall. There was something here.

Jerking his hand out, he fired a ki blast towards the shadow, much to the surprise of Videl.

However, the result of that move shocked Gohan as well. The moment the beam hit the wall at the corridor's end, instead of exploding, it ricocheted off the stone and flew back down the hall.

Immediately, Gohan grabbed Videl by the top of her arm and pulled her into the adjoining passageway just as the ki blast flew by them. It didn't take knowing rocket science for the Son boy to know that the beam would be flying back and forth in that hall until something made it explode.

"Well, that's a good thing to know," the saiyan muttered.

"And what was that for?!" Videl shouted. "You almost got me fried!"

"Sorry," Gohan said as he looked at the girl sheepishly. "I thought I saw something at the end of the hall. Didn't think these walls would be magically protected."

"Well next time you think you see something, try not to get me killed trying to scare it away," Videl snapped. "Unlike some people, I want to grow old before I die, thank you very much."

* * *

After a few hits to the head by a very irritable Videl, and a few useless apologies from Gohan, the couple had wander around the labyrinth, trying to find the exit so to speak. Though it took awhile, the two managed to reach their destination.

What they found there wasn't what they had been expecting.

Sprawled all over the floor was the rest of their group. Erasa was the only one not unconscious as she huddled by the entrance way, fear in her eyes as she looked straight ahead.

"Erasa! What happened?!" Videl exclaimed as she kneeled next to her blonde friend.

What ever trance the girl had been in she quickly snapped out of, lunging at Videl and grabbing on to her. "Videl, I'm so scared," Erasa whispered, obviously still petrified.

"Erasa, you need to tell me what happened here," Videl stated as calmly and firmly as she could. With the blonde in this state, it would take quite awhile to get the needed information out of her; not the ideal situation when you needed to act on the fly.

Unfortunately, before the Satan girl could get the blonde girl to speak, Gohan fell to the floor unconscious, just like the others. Whipping around as best she could with a terrified body pressed to her, Videl shouted "Gohan!" as she tried to make her way to him.

That was when things went from bad to worse. Before Videl could get to the fallen saiyan, a white hand appeared right in front of her face; a ball of energy burning dangerously in it. Erasa shrieked and leapt away from her dark headed friend, going right back into her fit of terror.

"And what do we have here?" an arrogant voice said. "I'm just having all kinds of luck here."

Though she had her eyes firmly on the ball of energy in her face, Videl managed to look past the orb of death and look at the gloating man. Well, to say he was a man would've been stretching the word. An insect-like green man with black spots stood there, a narcissistic look on his humanoid face. "I must say, taking out three saiyans and a couple humans was a feat in itself but now I've got a couple of defenseless girls to mess with. I just knew this was my day."

"What…what do you want?" Videl managed to say after awhile.

"Oh, nothing in particular; just that key for the Time Milieu is all. I don't think you or the blonde would object to that."

Although her survival instincts were screaming to give this…person its way, the irrational side of the Satan girl loudly protested it. "But we need that!" she objected.

"Well then, we're at an impasse," the bug-man said. "Though if the piece is just as important to you as it is to me, you'll surely come after me to retrieve it; am I right?"

Not trusting herself to actually speak, Videl merely nodded her affirmation.

"Very good! Well then, I have a deal for you. Since I will be taking the Time Milieu key here, you'll just have to follow me to add it to your own collection. I'll save you the time it would take to search for me, but you must agree to bring the keys you have with you. That way, if you somehow defeat me, you can have my key; but if I beat you, I can have yours. A splendid deal, no?"

"That sounds good," Videl replied as she nodded her head vigorously.

"Perfect," the bug almost purred. "Just head to Earth's Moon for our standoff. I'll be waiting girl."

That was when the ball of ki died in the man's hand, right before his body disappeared from sight and reappeared by the altar holding the key. Picking it up, he gave a small salute and smirk before he disappeared once more, this time for good.

It was then that Videl feel to her knees, panting heavily. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath during that whole encounter but now she could at least breathe normally. That whole meeting had been nerve-wrecking to the girl.

Hopefully the guys would understand her side of things.

* * *

Well, I was pleased with the response last chapter had. That make me a very happy ShadowMajin. Please, keep the ShadowMajin happy.

To Sigfried Wild: I've been told that my fight scenes are good. Can't tell you how much that pleases me to hear that. Glad you like them.


	17. Rite Of Spring

Wow, thanks for the reception last chapter guys. Wasn't expecting that at all. I'd like to thank Sigfried Wild, King of Konoha, Anonymous Void, and jcogginsa for their reviews. It means a lot and I hope to keep hearing from ya'll.

On another note, sorry about taking so long to post this chapter. Had some important school work I had to deal with, so this was put aside until now. Enjoy

* * *

"You did _what_?!" Coten shrieked. "You imbecile! You've told them our exact location! Now it's just a matter of time until they get here!"

"Yes, I know," Cell replied annoyed. "They do have the other keys we need, old man, and what better way to get them then by challenging them and killing them off?"

"That's not the point!" the scientist shouted. "Those fleabags could try and kill Dr. Wheelo! That mustn't ever happen!"

"Well, what's done is done," the bug-like android said. "They'll be here soon and my colleagues and I will make sure they're out of our way permanently. That's all there is to it."

Coten growled. "I should have you dissembled and tossed into outer space for your insolence, you bucket of bolts. I've had it up to here with you and your brood's impudence and if you keep disobeying me, I will have you dealt with in a move of finality. Do you understand me?"

A scowl appeared on the android's face. "I've had enough of your pettiness, old man." That was when a smirk appeared on his face. "I think you're usefulness to our group has to come to an end."

Raising a hand up, Cell powered up a ball of energy in his hand, ready to use it on the old man. However, when he tried to use it, he found he couldn't. It was almost as if he was paralyzed.

"Did you honestly think I'd bring you back to life without a few safeguards?" Coten crowed, staring at Cell with delight. "I installed chips in all of you to prevent you from harming Dr. Wheelo and I. No matter what you try, you cannot and will not disobey us without reprisal. Now, I think it's time I made an example out of you."

However, before the old man could carry out his threat, Dr. Wheelo's booming voice stopped him. "That's enough Coten."

Coten jerked his head to look at the looming brain. "But Dr. Wheelo! You can't allow this insubordination to go without punishment!"

"It's perfectly alright," the brain assured. "We were going to have to deal with these nuisances sooner or later. It shall perhaps prove beneficial to be rid of them in the long run."

Coten was stunned speechless. Although he did try to argue the point, all the old scientist could do was sputter nonsense. It was a scene that put a smirk on Cell's face.

"You may leave us, Cell," Dr. Wheelo then ordered. Doing a mock bow, the android then left the room, still reveling in his satisfaction.

"Wheelo was right about one thing; this should prove beneficial."

Cell stopped in his tracks and turned his head, seeing the newly repaired Gero leaning against a wall with his armss crossed over his chest.

"What do you have in mind?" Cell queried.

"Oh, you'll understand once the fireworks begin," the old man said. "We may not be able to inflict harm on those two but I know some people that may be able to do so."

The bug-like android's eyes twinkled with interest. "So I did good I take it."

"Very good, Cell, very good."

* * *

"Videl doesn't look like she took it too well," Trunks whispered to Goten.

"Yeah, no kidding," the Son boy agreed. "She looked as if she was gonna kill Gohan on the spot."

Before the two young saiyans, Gohan stood immovably as Videl wore a look of fury on her face. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that the Satan girl was gonna be left behind while the three saiyans went in and took care of their business on the Moon. While Videl refused to be left behind, like all of the other times, Gohan insisted that all of the humans stay behind. It was very likely something akin to a war would break out on the small rock. There were scores that needed to be settled once and for all and Gohan intended on making sure they remained settled this time.

"If this is cause I let that oversized bug get away with the key, then you've got another thing coming buddy," Videl threatened.

"I've already told you three times, this has nothing to do with the key," Gohan reiterated. "I don't want to get anyone hurt in needless conflict. This is a fight that me, Goten, and Trunks started and we're damn sure gonna make sure we end it."

That caused the daughter of Satan to growl. "You are not leaving this ship without me, you got that?"

"And you aren't leaving this ship; even if I have to get Tien and Sixteen to hogtie you," Gohan countered. "Both of them understand what I mean."

That caused the girl to jerk her head to look at the two, a scowl firmly fixed on her face. "Is that true?" she challenged.

"As much as I agree with you Videl," Tien started, "I get the feeling we'd only be in their way."

"You're not helping," she snarled.

"Sorry."

Sixteen, however, seemed to have a different outlook. "I agree; we need to keep casualties to a minimum."

"See, someone agrees with me," Gohan said, not stopping the smirk that was crawling onto his face.

"However, I must insist that I go along."

"You selfish pig!" Videl accused. "You're just thinking only of yourself!"

The android shook his head, disagreeing with the claim. "I, like the saiyans, have a score to settle with Gero and his underlings. It was one of them that killed me and I intend on repaying the favor."

That made Gohan look thoughtful. "You make a good argument," he conceded. "Okay, you can come with us. Everyone else stays."

"That's not fair!" the Satan girl roared.

"Videl, for once, listen to me," Gohan said with a deadly tone. "This is _not_ your fight. Stay out of it."

All Videl did was glare at the Son boy. "This isn't over," she finally said before storming out of the room.

"Wow, she's pissed," Goten commented.

"No kidding," Trunks agreed.

That was when Tien stood up from his chair and turned to address Gohan. "I know you're use to fighting by yourself," the bald man said, "but sometime you're gonna have to get over this 'I fight alone' stuff. You've got others willing to help bear your burden; let us help. If you keep pushing us away, you'll find yourself all alone and with no one to blame but yourself." And with that, the former bodyguard left the room as well.

* * *

"Everybody ready?" Gohan asked, the sound of his voice distorted by the voice transmitter.

Standing in an airlock room, the three saiyans each wore a bulky spacesuit; something they weren't altogether comfortable wearing. It was necessary though, since the atmosphere of the Moon was nonexistent.

Sixteen was the lone occupant of the room that didn't have one of the suits on. Thanks to his mechanical stasis, his need for oxygen wasn't as grave of an issue as it was for the other warriors.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Goten replied through his own transmitter. "I can't wait to get out of this piece of crap suit."

"You're telling me," Gohan grumbled.

That was when Sixteen moved to the hull door, grabbing onto the wheel-like handle, and spinning it clockwise. The sudden suction of air was heard and soon after, Sixteen flung the door open and leapt out. The three saiyans followed his example soon after.

To say that Earth's Moon was a barren place would've been completely wrong. Artificial mountains jutted out from the rock's surface, showing that there had been some attempt to colonize the place. To further prove that point, scattered all over the place was long-discarded construction equipment.

After the humans had obtained the environment-creating technology developed by the Plutonians, scientist and engineers had poured countless resources and time into making the Moon inhabitable. They had been successful too, giving the place a suitable atmosphere and soon after, a civilization.

Unfortunately, the residents of the Moon soon decided that they didn't need the Earth and declared they were their own separate world. Since Gero had been in control of Earth at the time, he hadn't taken that news very well. Under the guise of a generator failing, he turned the Moon's atmospheric machines off and simple let all of the denizens of the Moon die as they were sucked into the void of space or suffocated from lack of oxygen. There hadn't been another colonization attempt since.

Ever since the argument between Gohan and Videl, it had been a concern as to where on the Moon a base could possibly be. It had been worried so much that people's nerves were beginning to tear. That problem, however, had been solved as soon as they arrived near the rock. Out of all the deadness of the place, one of the artificial mountains was active as rays of light filtered through open holes of the place.

It was to this mountain that the saiyans and android made their way to, albeit clumsily. When one didn't have a gravitational force weighing them down, it was quite an awkward trip from one place to another.

All the while, the four warriors were paranoid, always searching for some sort of trap that would obstruct them on their journey to the mountain; yet nothing happened. It was almost as if they were being allowed to come this fair.

Not a feeling any of them enjoyed.

Soon, they reached the side of the artificial edifice, fortunately with the sun at their backs. Being in the shadow of something in space was not a very good experience, as most space travelers knew.

And thanks to the sun's light, the group of four found an airlock door in plain view; just another thing to add to their paranoia. This whole thing was way too easy to be real.

When Sixteen opened the door, the saiyans plunged into the room, soon followed by the android sealing it shut. Waiting a few moments, the trio of saiyans waited until Sixteen informed them that air had filled the room.

Removing his helmet as quickly as possible, Trunks said "Damn am I glad to get out of this thing." Not wasting anymore time, the last saiyan prince tore off the rest of the bulky suit. With the same line of thinking going through the Son boys, the saiyans were out of their space suits and ready for their next challenge.

"So what's the plan?" Goten asked enthusiastically.

"I would advise stealth," Sixteen suggested. "We can overcome our obstacles in an easier fashion following that course of action."

"That would be a waste of time," Gohan said. "They already know we're here; might as well go introduce ourselves and blow them all sky high."

Turning then, the saiyan walked to the door opposite the one they had used previously and opened it, crossing its threshold.

Sixteen stared at the blatant action as Goten followed his brother. "Is this how he leads every mission?" the android spoke aloud.

"Pretty much," Trunks answered. "We don't like to waste time with stealth unless it's very efficient." And with that, the last remaining saiyan followed after his comrades, Sixteen following shortly after.

What the group found after exiting the room was a very long corridor that ended with a set of heavy-set doors. Along the walls were randomly placed doors, giving the sense there was more to the place than it actually was. Not wasting any time, the four warriors headed straight to the large doors at the end, pushing them open soon after.

The room they encountered was very large with pipes running along the walls and a few doors at various points. There wasn't much other than the podium towards the far end of the chamber. Oddly enough, the far wall was completely covered in darkness.

"Why Jericho, what a pleasant surprise."

The heads of the fighters jerked to look at the source of the voice, finding a decrepit man in a white lab coat and leaning on a cane.

"Coten," Sixteen acknowledged. "It's been awhile."

That caused Coten to chuckle. "It has indeed, though I am curious why you're in the company of saiyans. I was under the assumption that you had fled from Earth to live in exile."

"And I thought you would've continued to remain out of the attention of the universe," the android countered.

"Touché," the old man replied. "But unlike you, I prefer fighting for a worthy cause instead of a fool's errand."

"And your cause would be?"

"Why, to restore the human race to its proper place in the universe of course."

Sixteen frowned. "And I presume you'd be the rightful leader?"

"Of course not!" Coten exclaimed, sounding almost distraught with that line of thinking. "The great Dr. Wheelo would reign eternally, just like he was supposed to do from the beginning of the universe."

"Geez, what is with you humans and controlling everything?" Goten complained. "It's almost as if you believe you deserve to be top dog. I don't know who this Wheelo guy is, but he must be deluded if he thinks he deserves that."

"Silence!" Coten roared. "How dare you speak of Dr. Wheelo in such a manner?! He's is the greatest mind in the entire universe!"

"And there's the oversized ego," Trunks added. "And to think we let these windbags run us all over the galaxy."

"How dare you?!" Coten screeched.

Throughout the whole exchange, unbeknownst to the room's occupants, a red light glowed on the dark side of the chamber. It remained there, hovering in midair for several seconds before vanishing.

Suddenly, a loud, booming voice echoed throughout the room. "Coten, I believe a prime specimen has fallen into our laps."

The old man swung himself around to face the dark wall. "Really Dr. Wheelo? Which one?"

"The tallest saiyan, he is perfect for our first mind transfer experiment," the booming voice announced.

With that announcement, all four warriors steeled themselves, Gohan in particular. He had no idea what the two "scientist", as they called themselves, were talking about; but what ever it was, it had to do with him.

That wasn't a thought he found comforting.

"That's an excellent idea!" Coten crowed. "We can set aside the artificial body and given you a fully functional one! Brilliant!"

"Hey!" Gohan shouted. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm no test subject. You better stop that nonsense or the last thing you'll see is my fist making friends with your face!"

"Now, now, don't be upset," the old man soothingly said. "You've just been given the greatest honor of your worthless life. Dr. Wheelo has taken a liking to your body and we wouldn't want to cause any undue stress to it."

Then with a speed no old man should have, Coten threw his cane holding arm up, the head of the stick facing the warriors. Pressing a hidden button on the cane, the head flipped open and fired a large beam at its targets.

Instinctively, all four warriors leapt out of the way, landing in different places of the room as an explosion erupted. However, the moment Gohan's feet touched the ground, wires burst through the metal floor, wrapping themselves around the saiyan's body; a sense of déjà vu overcoming the Son boy.

And before the saiyan could free himself, a large voltage invaded his body, causing the fighter to scream in pain.

"It has begun!" Coten proclaimed. "It's only a matter of time until Dr. Wheelo has taken full control of the saiyan's body and lives amongst the living once again!"

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: Yep, that was Cell, if the beginning of the chapter didn't answer that for you. I've got a couple more twist for this story so I hope you'll enjoy it.


	18. Start The Machine

Gohan could feel it in his mind. It was almost like the time he and Piccolo fused together; an awareness had entered his head and made itself at home. However, that time the awareness had been friendly and settled with being in the back of his head. This time the awareness was trying to shove him aside, kicking him out of his own body.

There was no way he was gonna willingly let that happen.

With his rage, he lashed out at the awareness, catching it off guard, and driving it back. However, that only lasted for a few seconds before it came back with a vengeance, attempting its hostile takeover again.

Had there not been wires holding his body still, Gohan would've grabbed his head and tried to tear his skull apart. Anything that would get rid of that invading mind.

* * *

"Gohan!" Goten cried as he watched the electric torture.

When Coten had announced the body snatching ploy, the youngest Son fell into a state of alarm. These human…monsters were trying to take his brother's body and use it against them; not something the saiyan liked.

And from the grunts and screams from his brother, it didn't sound as if he liked it either.

Moving, Goten raced over to Gohan, trying to think of a way to help his brother. Perhaps getting rid of those wires would do some good.

However, Coten wasn't gonna let the young saiyan do as he wished. Seeing Goten running towards the older saiyan, he raised his still open-headed cane and fired another large beam from it, planning on an intercepting course with the fighter.

Catching sight of the beam from the corner of his eye, Goten stopped his rush and leapt backwards, avoiding the red blast. Looking at Coten, the saiyan soon saw the man firing another beam at him; this time causing the warrior leaping high into the air to dodge it.

While Goten would've rather been helping his brother out, he had Coten's complete focus on him, allowing the other fighters to lend a hand. Taking the opportunity, Trunks appeared right by electrified Gohan, his sword drawn and read to use. With a swing, the oddly colored saiyan sliced through the wires easily. A couple more slashes and he had all the wires severed from Gohan's body; allowing the older saiyan to fall to his knees, his hands holding him off the ground as he panted heavily.

"Oh no you don't!" Coten shouted as he turned his attention to the two saiyans, raising one of his hands with his fingers pointed right at them. Suddenly, each finger expanded to unusual sizes before the old man's hand was torn apart, a gun turret replacing it. Without hesitating, Coten began firing his rounds at Trunks.

That was Coten's first mistake. Instead of fleeing from the gun fire, Trunks stood his ground, allowing the bullets to pelt him. To the scientist's dismay, none of the shots fazed him, much less caused any damage. It soon became apparent that the old man hadn't been paying attention to the Saiyo-Earthling War; otherwise he would've known about the infamous bullet-resistance of the saiyan race.

This time, however, it was Goten who took advantage of his opponent's preoccupied attention. Appearing right next to the old man, the saiyan raised his arm up with his hand as straight as a knife, fingers touching and thumb curled into the palm, and slammed it down on the gun turret arm, slicing it right off Coten's body.

Letting our a scream of pain, Coten stumbled backwards, electricity emanating from his arm stub. That didn't stop him from raising his cane once more to fire another beam, though.

What did stop him was Goten being right in front of him, his hand going over the cane's head and crushing it. A small explosion erupted from the cane, causing Coten to be thrown backwards and crash into the ground, crying out as he did so.

"Dr. Wheelo! Help me!" the old man cried out.

In response, Wheelo boomed "Gero! Get in here!"

Almost immediately, Gero appeared in the room, his hands behind his back as he looked on the scene impassively. Behind him, the other three android's stood, each with similar grins on their faces.

"Terminate these intruders!" Wheelo ordered. "But keep the older saiyan's body intact. I have plans for it."

Gero took in the scene before he decided to act. To the shock of everyone except his android entourage, he turned his back on the sight and began exiting the room; his comrades standing aside as he passed by them.

"What are you doing?!" Coten shouted. "You're suppose to kill these intruders, not walk away!"

That caused Gero to stop in his tracks. Glancing back, he said "I may not be able to harm you or Dr. Wheelo, but neither will I stop harm from being done to you. You made a fatal error in not incorporating servitude programs within each of us. And now, we will take our leave of you."

Coten's eyes widened in terror. "You traitors! You would still be dead if it wasn't for us!"

"And I thank you for reviving us," Gero replied. "But you need to work on your people skills in the event you survive this ordeal. Not too many people take to your orders and insults like loyal puppies." And with that said, the band of androids left the chamber, never looking back to their creators.

* * *

"That was great!" Tretton exclaimed, still giddy from their mutiny.

"I knew you still had it in you," Angie complemented. "That's Earth's greatest leader for ya."

"That's enough!" Gero barked. "That wasn't for your entertainment. That was to boost the moral of the saiyans, in case you have forgotten."

Angie rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I doubt they needed it though, with their warrior's pride or whatever. You sure they'll get rid of Wheelo and Coten?"

"They killed us," Gero replied. "And they already had that worm Coten begging us for help. It won't take much effort for them to dispose of him and that oversized brain of Wheelo."

"But now what are we to do?" Cell brought up. "Those saiyans will surely destroy half the base just to find the relic; and they already have two others."

"That's quite alright," Gero said. "We already know where we need to go for the next relic. We'll just meet them there and dispose of them. Taking their own keys will be a cinch after that."

"Always thinking ahead, aren't cha Gero?" Angie commented.

That caused the older android to stop. "Gero is dead," he said after awhile. "I am nothing more than just a machine that looks like him, so stop calling me by that name."

"Then what are we suppose to call ya, Pops?" Tretton asked.

That made the man formerly known as Gero think. "I believe I'll be following our old friend Jericho's example. Call me Twenty."

* * *

"Well, looks like you're all alone chump," Goten gloated over Coten. "Don't worry, you won't have to feel that way for long. I'll deal with you first and then track down your boss. We have unfinished business after all."

"Silence your meaningless babble!" Coten shouted. "You won't be dealing with anyone!"

"You bad guys just never stop talking do you?" the saiyan noted. However, before he could continue, there was a loud gasp that sounded behind him. If Goten had to say it was anyone, it had to be Trunks and he didn't gasp that loud without a reason. Actually, now that he thought about it, did his friend ever gasp? Turning around, he soon found out what had the saiyan prince's attention, as well as Gohan's and Sixteen's.

The wall that had previously been completely black had now been lit up, revealing an huge brain inside a glass barrier; a weird liquid within it. Well, you didn't see that everyday.

"I've had enough!" the brain shouted, eerily sounding like that Dr. Wheelo fellow. "I'll just handle you all myself!"

Suddenly, the wall surrounding the brain began to bulge; the sound of metal groaning as it was being torn apart. In an instant, an arm burst from the wall, followed by another on the opposite side of the brain. Gradually, a large body worked its way out with the brain tank situated near its top.

With a thunderous crash, two legs settled on the ground; a huge mechanical body standing for all to see.

The surface of the thing was a dark blue, possibly from the metal. Two toed foot held the legs in place as they joined a hump shaped body. Arms with pincers for hands sprouted from its shoulders while a bulky tail hung limp behind it..

Abruptly, bolts of electricity danced from the mechanical giant, lashing out soon after as the bolts tore into the walls, floor, and roof of the room.

Due to the erratic dance of the electricity, Goten, Trunks, Sixteen, and a newly recovered Gohan had to leap out of bolts' paths; everything the jolts of power touched being destroyed.

Unfortunately for Coten, he was unable to get out of the way of one.

"Dr. Wheelo!" the man screamed as he was struck, his body being torn apart slowly. A sudden flash covered the man, and when it died down, only a robotic body was left, slowly short circuiting as it weakly said "Doc-ter…Whee-e-lo…"

As quickly as the electricity had struck, it had disappeared, leaving the smoking robot lifeless.

"Watch where you're throwing those!" Trunks reprimanded at the towering robot. "You almost killed everyone!"

A chuckle emanated from the brain. "That was the idea."

At that point, Goten decided to go on the offensive, using a burst of speed of disappear, reappearing right in front of Dr. Wheelo; one of his hands drawn back and ready to punch the daylights out of the thing.

However, Wheelo's mechanical suit was much faster than any of the warriors had anticipated. Just as Goten had appeared, the tail of the body flung itself from its immobile stasis; causing Wheelo to lean to a side as the appendage slammed into the saiyan. The next thing anyone knew, the tail had rammed Goten right into the ground, pressing further into the surface.

"Goten!" Trunks cried out, charging with this sword ready to slice the metal appendage.

"Got ya!" Wheelo exclaimed as he raised one of his pincer-handed arms. Opening the pincer wide, an ominous yellow glow emanated from within the opening before a large beam was fired at the oddly colored saiyan.

That counter hadn't been what Trunks had expected as he looked at the incoming attack like a deer in the headlights. Gohan, fortunately, had him covered as he swooped in and broadsided the beam with a devastating punch; the beam flying towards a wall and exploding on it.

"You're mine now!" the oversized brain announced as it raised both of its arms over its head and swung them down on top of the saiyans. In reaction, both warriors raised their own arms to catch the large masses of metal. The results varied as Gohan held his attacking arm decently while Trunks was steadily forced towards the ground.

It was at that time that Sixteen chose to make his appearance, popping up right in front of the glass dome that held the brain. With one arm held up and the hand balled into a fist, the android shouted "Rocket Punch!"; the arm disconnecting and impacting the glass.

Unfortunately, the fist didn't create the desired reaction, merely bouncing off harmlessly. Though startled, Wheelo called upon his tail to defend him, the tip slamming into Sixteen from the side and sending him flying.

However, that move allowed Goten to emerge from his body imprint in the ground, pissed off, and ready to rumble. "You want to play dirty?!" he yelled as he gathered his energy. "Then take this!" he shouted as he threw both hands out and fired a ki blast; the blast impacting on the suit's leg.

That too, didn't have much an affect. A low growl emanated from the brain, just as he swung the arm that Gohan held to aside, catching the saiyan off guard and flinging him away. With the newly-unoccupied arm, he opened the pincer and fired another beam from it right at Goten.

And like a pissed off saiyan, the Son boy took the beam head on; crossing his arms in front of him as the energy enveloped him. Moments later, the blast died down, revealing a singed Goten, still with his arms crossed in front of him. Casually, he straightened his posture as he brought them to his sides. "Ha! That wasn't so tough!"

A second later, his eyeballs rolled into his skull as he leaned backwards, falling to the ground.

"Damn it, Goten!" Trunks reprimanded as he continued to struggle.

"Not so tough huh?" Wheelo commented. "We'll just see who's tough." With that said, the brain raised the arm battling Trunks, the saiyan releasing his hold unlike Gohan. Before he could react though, Wheelo used his suit's core to gather energy; releasing a shockwave that stunned the fighter where he stood.

Drawing his leg back, Wheelo swung it quickly, kicking Trunks away. Turning his attention back to Goten, the evil doctor chuckled. "Now there are no more nuisances in my way."

That was when Wheelo leapt into the air, intending on smashing his foot down on the helpless saiyan.

Luck, however, decided to favor the unconscious Son boy. After recovering himself from the blow he had received, Sixteen had moved himself into a prime position for a sneak attack once more. Standing a small distance away in front of the leaping Wheelo, the android had his still handless arm up in the air; the stub glowing brightly.

"Blaster fire!" Sixteen shouted, sending his charged energy blast at the brain; the blast making contact with the bottom of Wheelo's foot just before it could smash Goten. Caught off guard, Wheelo was pushed off his balanced and toppled over, falling onto his back as he cried out.

"I'll get your for that!" Wheelo threatened as he rose the top half of his suit. "Take this!"

A moment went by as a ball of energy formed in front of the suit's chest. Then without warning, a large blast was fired at Sixteen, making the android dive for cover as the blast raced past him.

Once the attack died down, Wheelo forced himself back onto his feet. However, before he could do anything, a golden glow flew over his head, making a U-turn out in front of him. The next thing the brain knew, the glow had rammed itself right into his suit's chest, forcing it off the ground and into the wall far behind it. A loud war cry sounded off shortly after that before a bright explosion erupted.

Then out of the flames, a figure came flipping out, stopping some yards away from the blast; revealing Gohan in his Super Saiyan form. Getting tired of some insane intellectual, the saiyan had transformed and taken matters into his own hands.

Keeping his eyes on the dying explosion, he let his ears take in the surrounding sounds. Some groans from Goten told the older Son boy his brother was waking up; a good thing since the battle's end wasn't certain. Some footsteps alerted the warrior to both Trunks and Sixteen moving about.

All good things with the exception of Wheelo's present condition. That would be revealed shortly as the smoke from the wall, though thick, was dissipating. Soon the smoke was gone, revealing Wheelo's metal suit to be in shambles. There was a large hole in the chest cavity, showing the wiry insides of it.

"Agghhhh," Wheelo moaned. "Look…look at what you've done to me. You almost killed me."

"That was the point," Gohan replied.

A growl came from the suit. "You haven't beaten me yet monkey. I can still fight."

"Not with the damage you've sustained," the saiyan countered. "You're pretty much stuck in the wall right now."

"Just watch me! I'll kill you yet!" the brain shouted. At that moment, Wheelo's suit began to glow a deadly red color, uneasiness starting to well up in Gohan. "Unlike you, I don't need air to survive. I'll just blow up the Moon leave you to rot in space!"

Gohan's eyes widened. What was it with him and running into guys who would destroy a planet just so they wouldn't lose? It was starting to become a habit; one he didn't like in the least.

A moment later, two power levels increased behind him, alerting the saiyan to Trunks and Goten gathering their ki to counter Wheelo's attack. Leaping up into the air, Gohan landed a small distance behind the two, finding Goten crouched with his hands cupped to his right side, blue energy radiating; and Trunks with both arms raised at shoulder height with orbs of yellow ki in his hands.

"Take this!" Wheelo shouted as huge red beam fired from his body.

Simultaneously, Goten and Trunks shouted "Kamahamaha!" and "Big Tree Cannon!" respectfully; thrusting their energy covered hands in front of them and firing a blue beam and a yellow beam.

All three blasts raced towards each other before colliding between the groups. However, Wheelo's attack was slowly beginning to overtake Trunks and Goten's beams, edging its way towards the two saiyans.

That was when Sixteen appeared in between the young warriors. Holding his other detachable forearm in his armpit, the android held both stumps up at the approach blast. With both arms glowing, Sixteen shouted "Blasters fire!"; the command sending his own attack into the fray.

The additional power from the Android's beam immediately helped the saiyans. Though they weren't overtaking Wheelo's beam, they had managed to halt his, much to the brain's surprise.

"Im-impossible!" the scientist cried out.

Watching the stalemate, Gohan saw his opportunity to end this whole charade. Holding his right hand out in front of him, he gathered his ki until a bright blue orb of ki appeared, swirling around the saiyan's hand.

Leaping high into the air, Son boy saw he had a great vantage point of Wheelo's head. Pulling back the arm with his ki attack, Gohan shouted "Final Spirit Cannon!" and threw the ball; the orb flying towards its target.

The moment the ball hit the mechanical suit, it exploded. Wheelo didn't have enough time to scream as the attack made contact with his glass front; completely unaware of it until the flames broke into his watery tank, the brain was consumed within a matter of seconds.

And because of the unexpected attack, Wheelo's own beam cut off immediately; the red blast vanishing into thin air. Without the beam holding them back, Trunks, Goten, and Sixteen own blasts raced into the metal suit, exploding upon contact.

Smoke covered the detonation zone for awhile but finally, the smokescreen dissipated. Only bits and pieces of debris was left of Wheelo's suit. About the only thing that was relatively intact was the backside of the brain's tank; empty from its owner's demise.

* * *

After the battle, the four weary fighters gave themselves a little time to recover. Once they caught their breaths, and Sixteen found his discarded arm, then went in search of the stolen Time Milieu key. The first room they had entered though, was the control room. Good news since they could have Sixteen access the mainframe and find where exactly the key was being held.

It didn't take long after that for them to find the key sitting on a stand in the middle of a room. The chamber itself was plan and dull with a circle outline surrounding the key stand on the floor.

That's when things went wrong.

Approaching it, Gohan picked the key right off the stand, causing the room to be covered in red light and the sound of an alarm going berserk. Suddenly, a glass barrier descended from the roof, closing in on the circular outline on the ground.

Reacting as quick as he could, Gohan flung the key passed the closing glass; the key being caught by Goten. There wasn't much more the older Son could do as the barricade touched down on the ground, sealing him inside.

Yet the alarm didn't shut off; not until the glass wall broke off from the roof and disappeared into the ground, taking Gohan with it.

"Gohan!" Goten shouted; followed by Trunks yelling "What's going on?!"

Tapping the connection he maintained with the base's computer mainframe, Sixteen delved into the electronic files as red flashes emanated from his eyes. Finding the data he sought, the android growled. "That was the security feature of this room," he reported. "Any intruder that enters that circle sets it off. The trespasser is then sealed into a rocket and launched out of the base."

"Where's he heading?" Trunks demanded.

More red lights blinked in front of the giant's eyes. "Earth."

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: And yet another cliffy! I'm horrible sometimes, I just know it lol.

Hey guys, sorry this took so long to come out with. Had a bit of a writer's block, still do as a matter of fact. But I've still have a couple more chapters written so you can expect another chapter a week from now, that being the worst case scenario. If I do get out of this block thingie, you can expect another update sooner than that.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed last chapter. It gives me that warm feeling inside to know people actually like what's going on with the story, and tell me what I need to do better with it.

On a side note, for those of you wishing for a laugh, I have completed a co-authored fic with Takuma under the name "Fangirls Go Wild!"


	19. In A Red Dress And Alone

Smoke wafted through the broken streets that Gohan sat in. A slight headache was forming at the back of the saiyan's head as he massaged his temples, hoping to quell the annoying pounding.

What had happened back at Wheelo's base? One moment he was picking up a relic key, the next he was fired into space. A little turbulence, i.e. a lot of jarring quakes, through the atmosphere of Earth and a crash landing in one of many abandoned cities on the planet was the direct cause of his current headache. That and a small nap on the cobblestone ground after the crash.

That had actually been more comfortable than he would've initially thought.

After awhile, the Son boy stood on his feet, taking in his surroundings. The last time he had been on this planet, there was definitely more signs of life than this ghost city. At least he had sensed more life anyways. He doubted every shred of humanity had finally left this dump for bigger and better planets.

Though there was that Cold Empire invasion. They might've exterminated the remaining inhabitances here. Though that would've been unlike Frieza and his family. Those aliens had some weird obsession with dominating every last shred of life before they exterminated it. Perhaps the humans were just hiding out much like his own race had done after being conquered.

"It's about time you woke up."

Gohan couldn't help but stiffen. Slowly, he turned his body to face the last person he had wanted to see.

There, sitting on a pile of rubble, was Broly.

"I take it you've been watching me sleep, Broly?" Gohan questioned the giant saiyan.

"In a manner of speaking," Broly answered, a small grin on his face. "I was just eradicating the last speck of life on this mudball when I saw something in the sky. Came to investigate it and found you lying in the debris."

Well that explained the lack of human life. Seemed Broly had wanted some revenge on the weak race. But why he hadn't obliterated him while he had been out cold was a bit puzzling. "And you let me live this long for?"

"I thought that would've been obvious to you. I want you to fight me; pick up from where we left off the first time."

Gohan shook his head. He should've known that was the only possible reason. Broly was slowly sinking into insanity from his power; so much so that the only thing he thought of was fighting.

Unfortunately, the Son boy had seen the way Broly had fought with Gero and his android brood. He had a very deadly style, one that made him act like an unstoppable juggernaut and fight with reckless abandon. However, Gohan was pretty sure that every opponent Broly had fought up to this point had initially underestimated his power. This round though, the saiyan warrior would give this man everything he had right from the start.

However, instead of starting the inevitable fight, Broly said "You know, I met your grandfather once. He and my father were considered rivals at one time."

Gohan cocked an eyebrow. "That a fact?"

"Yes, it is. In all honesty, your father and I were born to continue that rivalry. Fate would have other destinies for us though. In fact, I forgot what your father's name was," the golden saiyan explained.

"Kakarot. It was Kakarot," Gohan spoke.

"Kakarot huh? Alright then Son of Kakarot. Let's start this massacre."

Not waiting for Broly to make the first move, Gohan's face twisted into a look of concentration. Immediately, a golden aura enveloped him, unleashing his Super Saiyan from. However, he didn't stop there. Baring his teeth, a low hum escaped his lips before he ascending to the next level.

This development caught the other Super Saiyan off guard. "You can do that too?" he questioned before a wide, sinister smile crossed his face. "Impressive."

Then letting out a war cry, Broly leapt from the pile of rubble he sat on, crushing the ground as his feet touched down on it, and ran at the Ascended Saiyan. Due to the giant's speed, Gohan could only get his arms up just as Broly reached him; his larger hands gripping onto the smaller saiyan's shoulders.

In response, Gohan got the best grip he could get on Broly's arms before leaping into the air, slamming his knee into the hulk's chin. Broly's head jerked backwards from blow, caught off guard slightly.

However, that didn't delay the saiyan at all as he forced his head back down, pushing the knee down with his chin. As soon as that was accomplished, Broly then rose his arms up, holding Gohan above his head. Leaping from the ground, the giant saiyan released his hold on his opponent's shoulders as his body rotated in midair. Then with a quick pullback of his leg, Broly swung his foot, landing a kick to Gohan's chin and sending him flying as spit flew from his mouth.

However, Gohan didn't allow himself to continue his unexpected flight course; flipping himself over once before he landed with his feet on the ground, skidding over a few yards as he twisted his body to look at Broly. Once he came to a stop, although his body was slightly off balance, the saiyan gathered a great deal of ki into his hand; righting himself out as he thrust his arm out and fired his ki blast.

Broly, who had landed back on his feet and turned to look at his opponent, saw the blast coming. Crossing his arm over his chest, he swung it out, slapping the blast away. With that accomplished, the saiyan charged once more at the Son boy.

This time, though, Gohan was ready for Broly. Instead of allowing the giant hulk to reach him, the Son boy used a burst of speed to disappear from sight, appearing in midair behind Broly's head, his back to his foe. Then twisting his body to float sideways, Gohan swung a kick that impacted Broly in the back of his head, causing him to lose his footing and stumble forward.

Allowing himself to fall to the ground and landing on his feet, Gohan then launched into a series of extremely fast flips, putting distance between the two saiyans. Ending his flips while conveniently facing the large warrior, Gohan quickly gathered as much ki as he could before he back firing a rapid fire of ki blasts, pumping his arms back and forth in front of him as he launched more and more beams.

Orange and red flames erupted all over Broly as the barrage of ki blasts explode on him, fire and smoke covering the area he stood.

Gohan soon came to rest from his attack, standing calmly as he held both his hands up, one by his head and the other out in front of him with the palms showing. He knew damn well that last assault wouldn't be the end of this fight. The ball was in Broly's court now; he would just have to wait for him to move.

That was when a green glow shown through the think smokescreen; a decent sized green ball of ki bursting from the smoke and racing towards the saiyan.

Reacting immediately, Gohan leapt backwards and slightly to a side. Pulling his now fisted left hand in front of him, and bringing his still open right hand back; the Son boy took a step forward as he swung his open hand and slammed it into the ball of ki. For a moment, a struggle between Gohan's swinging arm and the force of the ki ball occurred before the saiyan got control, allowing him to take another step forward as he threw the orb back into the wafting smoke. A green explosion erupted soon after.

Once the flames died down, Broly suddenly exploded from the smoke, rushing at Gohan with both arms raised at shoulder height.

Not expecting the quick recovery, Gohan had a look of surprise on his face as his opponent rammed into him; clotheslining him with one of his outstretched arms. As the Son boy fell to the ground, Broly stopped his charge, twisting around to look back at the fallen saiyan. Leaping up into the air, the giant allowed gravity to push him back to the ground, aiming to smash one of his feet on this opponent's head.

Seeing the incoming boot sole, Gohan rolled to a side, just as both of Broly's feet smashed into the ground on both sides of his body. Losing track of himself for barely a second, the Son boy found himself on his back with his foe getting ready for another attack.

Quickly, Gohan threw his arms up and bent them at the elbow. Jerking them back, his elbows slammed into the backs of Broly's knees, causing the saiyan to let out a grunt of pain as he felt forward, landing on his knees.

Using a burst of speed, Gohan disappeared from the ground he laid on, appearing high in the air and looking down on his opponent.

That was when Broly began to chuckle, getting back onto his feet. "This; now this is a true fight!" the golden saiyan announced, turning his body to get a better look at his opponent. "I've been craving this for quite some time, Son of Kakarot."

Gohan didn't reply, choosing to stare down at the Legendary Super Saiyan. That was completely fine with Broly though as he completely turned his body to face in Gohan's direction. That was when a greenish tint covered the area before it drew in on Broly. A green ki ball soon appeared in the saiyan's hand.

Letting out a war cry, Broly then threw the ki ball at Gohan. In response, the saiyan warrior steeled himself, waiting for the attack to get closer to him. Then at the last moment, the Son boy straightened the fingers of one of his hands with the thumb curling into his palm. With a yell, the golden fighter brought the stiffened hand over his head before swinging it down as hard as he could; his hand biting into the ki ball.

A moment later, Gohan's hand completely sliced through the green orb, sending two smaller ki balls off to opposite sides of him. As the energy balls began to fall towards the ground below, they suddenly destabilized; exploding as they sent smoke everywhere.

That was the least of the Son boy's concerns. With the eminent ki ball threat dealt with, he turned his attention back to Broly, and received the shock of his life when he didn't find the saiyan.

Falling into a defensive stance, Gohan quickly looked all over the area. He needed to find that maniac fast; otherwise he was just a sitting duck.

That was when two hands came from behind him and roughly grabbed his arms at the wrists; pulling them back before the saiyan could resist. Jerking his head to a side, Gohan found Broly grinning maliciously as he held his arms, one of his legs pulled back and ready to be used.

Then with a swing, Broly rammed his knee into Gohan's back, creating a spider web's worth of cracks in his armor. Between the blow and the increase strain making itself known in his arm sockets, the golden warrior couldn't help but scream out his pain.

"That's right, scream your lungs out. You won't be needing them after this," Broly gloated as he dug his knee between his opponent's shoulder blades; all the while pulling his arms back to keep his prey helpless.

Gritting his teeth, Gohan held back the urge to scream again. He needed to do something now or he'd have his arms ripped from his sockets; and seeing as how he needed those appendages later, that would've been quite inconvenient.

Bracing himself, the saiyan poured as much strength as he could into his arms, slowly beginning to move them forwards and out of their compromised positions. This action caught Broly off guard; causing him to try and pull back against the feat. However, that struggle of strength fell into the Son boy's favor as he had finally positioned his arms into a more comfortable position.

With that achieve, Gohan then swung his lower half up over his head, bending one of his knees in the process. With a jerk of the same knee, he bashed it right into the giant saiyan's face, causing him to lose his grip and draft backwards; leaving Gohan to hover in midair with his back towards the ground and his head looking right at his opponent.

Rotating his body until his stomach faced the earth far below, the warrior charged in, slamming a fist right into Broly's stomach, causing him to bend over the punch. Then with a vicious fury, Gohan launched into a barrage of punches; sending each blow into his foe's unprotected midsection. After that, the golden saiyan threw an uppercut that nailed Broly under his chin, causing his head to snap up. Then with a lunge, Gohan rose up into the air with his hands clasped behind his head, swinging a jackhammer blow soon after.

However, two bulky arms suddenly appeared, crossing over each other and blocking the jackhammer, shocking the Ascended Saiyan. A deep chuckle soon followed as a greenish tint began to appear around the two fighters before bursting into green flame.

* * *

The ship wasn't going fast enough for Goten's taste. If he had it his way, they'd already be on Earth and dragging Gohan back onto the ship; supposing that he was lying around unconscious of course.

"Are you positive about that?" Trunks demanded. "You sure there's a fight happening down there?"

"One hundred percent," Sixteen replied. "If you would look at the planet's surface towards the north, you'd see the explosions."

Everyone in the ship looked out of the ship's main window and saw what their robotic colleague was getting out. Clear as day, there were beams of green light shinning from spots on the planet. Moments later, the lights would die off, indicating that the rays were originally from some sort of explosion; one large enough to have been seen from space.

That caused Trunks to growl. "And Gohan must be where those explosions are. He just doesn't know how to avoid fights, I swear."

Tien shook his head regretfully. "I didn't think my prediction would come this early."

"Do you honestly think he didn't know that?" Goten snapped. "Of course he did. Every single one of us, right down to Erasa, did. That's just how life is for a saiyan."

Videl glared at the Son boy. "You know, I'm getting tired of hearing that. 'Saiyans are so tough' and 'saiyans are awesome.' We get it, you're good fighters. Give it a rest already."

Silence filled the ship after that, even as they approached the ruined human planet. It even continued as they entered the atmosphere. Once they broke through that natural barrier though, things took a turn for the worst.

As the ship approached a landing point, a purplish gas suddenly began seeping out of the air vents. Steadily, the room filled up with the gas; and to the horror of the room's occupants, they found out the gas had some nasty side effects.

Hoarse coughing racked from the humans and saiyans, each one trying to rid the fumes from their system. One by one, each one collapsed onto the floor and fell into unconsciousness. Yet, only one person remained immune to the gas.

Looking over his unconscious comrades, Sixteen stood up from his seat. Pressing a few buttons on the control panel, the vents began sucking out the knock-out gas; clean air replacing it.

"I'm sorry friends, but I cannot allow you to leave this ship," the android said aloud. "I hope you can forgive me."

* * *

Gohan broke through a crumbling wall, continuing to run.

The fight had taken a nasty turn against him, allowing Broly to pound him mercilessly. As evidence, the left chest portion of his armor was completely gone, showing his firm chest as well as jagged outline of his armor around it. Even worse was the fact that he had lost control of his Ascended Saiyan form and had dropped into his Super Saiyan one; and then into his normal state shortly after. All the while, his opponent didn't even seem to break a sweat.

Not too long after the now broken wall, the Son boy found himself in a desolate street. It was there that a green ki ball came flying from above, aiming to hit the warrior. Reacting quickly, Gohan leapt out of the way as an explosion erupted behind him.

"What's wrong Son of Kakarot?" Broly taunted as he descended to the ground, his arms crossed over his chest. "Are you running out of steam?"

Gohan growled. He'd show this hulk who was "running out of steam." Cupping his hands, he held them in front of his body; his palms facing each other as his finger tips touched each other. Letting out a low hum, the Son boy gathered his ki as his voice steadily rose louder and louder until he was yelling.

"Mokosen Ha!" Gohan shouted as he threw his arms out, firing the attack at his foe. Broly stood there, smiling as the blast nailed him head on, covering him in flames and smoke.

Unfortunately, like the many other attacks that had been used against him, that Mokosen had done little to no damage whatsoever. Even Broly's smile was in place as small wafts of smoke left his body.

Gohan silently cursed. What was the deal with this guy? Was he impervious against every beam attack? Everything he had thrown at him had done minimal damage, if any at all. His frustration was building up to the point he'd blow and throw all caution to the wind. He was gonna blast that guy into oblivion, one way or another.

That was when a thought struck the Son boy. Maybe…maybe he had been going about this all wrong. Perhaps swallowing Broly in energy was the wrong way to go. It was quite possible that instead of plowing through, he should go smaller and try to pierce the evil giant's heart.

Unfortunately, the saiyan only had one move that could possibly get those results and it wasn't the ideal move in his condition. Time was a factor with it and that was something he sorely lacked. But what choice did he have? It was either that move or something he didn't have.

"Well, it's worth a shot," Gohan muttered before gathering his ki once again; this time raising one hand to his head with two fingers extended and hovering in front of his forehead.

"So you want to try again I see," Broly mocked again. "I hope it's a good one this time. Otherwise, it'll be the last move you'll ever do."

"Thanks for the pep talk," Gohan replied, just as small bolts of electricity began to dance over his two fingers. "I'll be sure to take it to heart."

It was at that moment a bright, continuous spark began dancing on the saiyan's finger tips. Here it was, his attack of last resort, at least in this case. Time to make the most of it.

Flinging his fingers out and aiming them at his opponent, Gohan shouted "Special Beam Cannon!" and fired the all too familiar attack; the thin beam with another swirling around it.

The next few moments went by in a flash to the Son boy; quite literally in fact. A blinding white light covered the impact zone that the warrior was sure his attack had hit Broly; right before a large smoke cloud erupted out of nowhere and consumed everything.

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: I'm not sure if Gohan's having fun on his second trip to Earth lol.

I must say, this is perhaps my most favorite chapter of this story. Mostly action I must admit, but I had always wondered what a fight between Broly and Super Saiyan 2 Gohan would be like. I hoped I captured that for ya'll.


	20. Call To Arms

Hey folks. On this day a year ago, the group SweetestIrony was started. As a birthday present to mark the occasion, I'd dedicating this chapter to the group. Happy Birthday SweetestIrony!

By the way, after the last chapter, I had gotten into a debate with jcogginsa about whether Gohan had been a Super Saiyan 2 in the Broly's Second Coming movie. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if everyone else thought Gohan had ascended in that movie. Tell me your thoughts.

* * *

Gohan waited with his fingers in front of him, staring at the cloud of smoke. It was only a matter of time before the results of his attack showed themselves, though the suspense was killing the saiyan. Best case scenario would have Broly dead from the lethal blow; the worst case being the giant saiyan unharmed and thoroughly pissed.

Slowly the smoke dispersed, causing the Son boy to widen his eyes. Standing in the same spot, Broly leaned towards his left side, one of his hands hovering over his right shoulder which was solid red with burns and dried blood. Far behind the hulk, one of the skyscrapers in the background had a large, circular hole in it with smoke wafting from it.

"That was quite an attack," Broly commended, his speech obviously strained. "It's too bad for you that you had poor aim, even with me standing still."

Two emotions welled up within Gohan. The first one was dismay that his beam cannon hadn't finished the fight; the other being joy that he had actually caused some harm on the seemingly invulnerable fighter. But unlike before, at least he knew now what he had to do to take down this insane version of Broly, and for good as well.

Feeling confidence returning to him, Gohan instantly focused on his energy and launched himself back into his Ascended form. The fight wouldn't take much longer, especially now that he knew what to do.

That, however, had been a mistake. Upon reaching his most powerful form, the saiyan quickly learned that his energy was running on empty. That had been a very bad thing to discover, particularly when he was fighting a guy he wasn't completely certain he could defeat.

Fortunately though, the time factor it took to charge the Special Beam Cannon in this form was a few seconds rather than a couple minutes. Considering that Broly probably wouldn't let him get away with that long of a charge again, this was probably the only form that would give him the edge he needed to prepare the attack.

All he needed to do was connect with this next shot and this battle would be over.

Jerking his two fingers back to his forehead, Gohan could feel the needed ki building up rapidly, the familiar spark of energy appearing at his twin fingertips. "I hope you're ready Broly cause this is where you end," the Son boy announced.

Trusting his fingers out once more, the warrior shouted "Eat this!" and fired the attack once more.

However, Broly didn't just stand and wait for the beam to hit him. Instead, he rose one of his feet and slammed it into the ground in front of him. This action caused cracks to burst out all over the cobblestone street before a sizeable chunk of it tore from the earth and rose right in front of the Super Saiyan; his body completely hidden from view behind it.

Gohan's eyes widen in horror just as the beam cannon smashed into the protruded rock and blew right through it.

As soon as the attack died off, the Son boy felt his energies leave him, causing him to revert into this normal Super Saiyan form. Out in front of him, chucks of what remained of Broly's stone barrier laid about without the body of the hulk anywhere to be seen.

Definitely not a good thing.

That was when the building to his left blew apart with a very unhappy Broly emerging from it. In one of his hands a bright ki ball glowed; that was until the saiyan threw that hand in front of him and pressed it right into Gohan's chest.

An explosion sent the Son boy flying until he crashed to the ground, bouncing off of it a couple times before skidding to a stop. Looking up at his opponent, he could see the giant gathering more ki into his hands, that sinister look of his returning to his face. Hastily, Gohan got onto his feet and began running at his foe.

With a yell, Broly threw one of his ki balls at his charging opponent, the ball collide with its target's arms, which Gohan had crossed in front of himself. As fire and smoke spewed from the collision, the Son boy emerged from the impact site with his arms still crossed in front of him as well as running.

That was when Broly began to laugh manically as he threw another ki ball, this one creating another explosion on Gohan as another ki ball appeared in the Super Saiyan's opposite hand, throwing that soon after; repeating that process over and over. In response, Gohan continue to keep running with his guard up, getting hit by the ki balls over and over.

That all changed once the warrior got in close with his much bigger foe. Instead of throwing another ki ball, Broly lunged forwards and threw an uppercut; one went right under his opponent's crossed arms and nailed him on his chin. That stopped Gohan right in his tracks, as well as sending him off the ground to hover in midair defenselessly.

With a yell, Broly charged again, slamming an extended arm right into Gohan's midsection; continuing to run with his smaller foe being carried by his arm. That running didn't stop, even as the two rammed into a building and broke right through its wall. It didn't even stop when all the walls within the structure and its back wall were slammed into; nor in all the other buildings Broly forced the two to crash through.

What did stop all the wall "renovating" was when the two saiyans exited the city. With nothing left to smash his opponent into, Broly came to a stop, allowing Gohan to fall off his bulky arm and down to the ground.

However, that didn't mean the Legendary Super Saiyan was done with his opponent, who had lost his golden hair and fell into his normal black locks once more. Raising his foot, the saiyan slammed it right into Gohan's chest, causing him to cry out as spit and blood flew from his mouth.

"Looks like you were wrong, Son of Kakarot," Broly said as he removed his foot from the beaten saiyan. Leaning down, he grabbed the only shoulder strap on the armor and raised the Son boy off the ground. "My end hasn't come nor will it ever. Yours on the other hand…"

Eyeing a large stone ridge from the corner of his eye, Broly smirked. "Your end has finally come." Then with a movement of his arm, the golden saiyan flung his battered foe in front of him. With an immediate gathering of ki, Broly fired a ki blast right into Gohan's stomach and sent him flying towards the ridge.

The next thing Gohan knew, his body was crushed into the stone surface, causing him to cry out. Panting a bit, the Son boy soon discovered that he was firmly pressed into the rock around him. Today was just not his day for some reason.

Looking around with just his eyes, he soon found Broly floating a few yards away, smirking at him. "Still alive I see. You're pretty persistent."

"Yeah, that's me. Just don't know when to die," Gohan responded.

That caused the hulk to laugh out loud. "I expect nothing less out of a saiyan warrior like yourself. But there's one last thing that needs to be done of you."

"And what could that be?"

"To die of course."

"I was afraid you'd say that," the Son boy grimaced.

"Don't worry, I'll give you an honorable death. That's the least I could do for one of my people."

Gohan closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them. It looked like this was the end of the line. He'd take his last breath staring down what ever death was coming to him.

Then out of nowhere, a giant, golden ki ball raced in and collided with Broly; an explosion encompassing him. Shock went through the saiyan's mind upon witnessing that. Wasn't the rest of life on this dead mudball extinguished already?

That was when a familiar set of black spandex-covered legs descended into his view. "Sixteen?!" the Son boy exclaimed as the rest of his comrades body appeared, his back to the warrior.. "What are you doing here?"

The android turned his head and gave a small smile. "Lending assistance."

"Well, you're timing couldn't be better," Gohan said with relief. "We need to get out of here right now." With some strain on his body, the saiyan's arms broke out of his stone entrapment, moving his body out of it shortly after. "C'mon, before Broly reappears."

"That would be futile," the android responded. "Your opponent is far too persistent for such a tactic."

Gohan looked at the tall man incredulously. "You intend on fighting this guy?"

Instead of answering that, Sixteen said "You must leave now. Someone will die here today and that mustn't be you."

That had Gohan completely lost. "Sixteen, what are you talking about?"

The android sighed. "Out of everyone in our group, you're the only one we cannot afford to lose. Only you hold the power to defeat Frieza and his father, so you must not die here. Now go; do not wait for me to arrive at the ship. I will hold off this monster for as long as I can."

"Not if I can help it."

That caused both Gohan and Sixteen to jerk their attention back to Broly, who was just emerging from the dissipating smoke cloud around him. "I'll have you both dead and gone before you can even blink," he boasted.

Letting out a war cry, Sixteen charged at the giant saiyan, landing a punch on the man's forehead. "Leave now!" the android shouted before Broly retaliated, throwing his own punch that nailed the tall man in the face.

Although his head snapped to a side, Sixteen did not go flying off like both the saiyans had thought he would. Instead, he used one of his hands to grab onto Broly's extended arm, stopping him from an unnecessary flight. Moving quickly, the android put his other hand right in front of his opponent's face and fired an energy blast point blank, covering the golden fighter's head in flames and smoke.

Though it went against his conscience, Gohan turned his back to the fight and flared his aura, flying away at high speeds. Using his ki sense, he could faintly detect the separate power levels of his comrades.

Hopefully they weren't in any trouble.

* * *

With a raised fist, Broly swung it down onto Sixteen's shoulder, sending the android crashing to the ground below. Without hesitating, the golden saiyan went charging after his new foe, a powered up ki ball in one of his hands as he let out a war cry.

Sixteen, however, managed to get onto his hands and knees and pushed off of them just as his larger foe slammed his attack into his crash zone. A large dust cloud blew up and covered the fighter.

Managing to land on his feet, though not facing his opponent's landing site, the android twisted his body around and threw one of his hands up. Grabbing his wrist with his other hand, he quickly charged up his energy and began firing ki blasts at his smoke covered opponent.

Though his efforts were futile, the android knew, he would buy as much time as he could for Gohan to get to the ship and leave this planet. The longer he lasted, the better chance the saiyan had at accomplishing this. While he did regret not telling his comrade where the ship was, his sensors did tell him the fighter was heading in the right direction. He just needed to hold out a little longer and hopefully his distraction would work.

Suddenly, Broly's large form exploded from the ground in front of Sixteen, his trademark smirk firmly plastered to his face. Pulling back one of his large fist, he slammed it into his foe's face, causing him to stumble backwards from the force behind it.

However, Broly didn't let him recovered from the blow. Punch after punch he sent into the android's face or body, each hit causing his opponent to stumble backwards. While there wasn't a lot of speed to his punches, that aspect wasn't necessary as each blow landed.

"How…do you…expect to…defeat me…fighting…like this?" the saiyan mocked as he threw a punch during each pause. "Scratch that…how do you…expect…to survive?"

That was when the android lashed one of his arms out, grabbing onto Broly's newly outstretched arm. "I don't," Sixteen said as a small smile crept onto his face.

Suddenly, Sixteen lunged at the Super Saiyan, wrapping his legs around the giant's waist as his arms locked themselves underneath Broly's armpits and onto his shoulders. "In fact, I didn't expect to win."

"What are you doing?" the saiyan said, keeping his cool despite the development.

"This."

Red light began to dance on Sixteen's blue eyes, disappearing just as sudden as they had appeared. Slowly, the android's whole body began to glow until only his outline could be distinguished.

And in one second, that form erupted into light; Sixteen's form disappearing in the flash as well as Broly's.

* * *

Gohan had just touched down in front of the ship when he felt a gust of wind pick up. Turning around, the saiyan was stunned to find a large ball of flames growing bigger and bigger in the distance. The next thing the warrior knew, he was shielding his face from the sudden rush of wind and dust that hit him as well as the blinding light emanating from the explosion.

Though he didn't stare directly at it, Gohan could almost tell how big it was. It was like a rising sun covering the entire horizon. Reaching up into the heavens and expanding until his peripheral vision could barely pick out the edges.

Slowly, the light dimmed down, along with the intense wind; finally allowing the saiyan to get a good look at what he could best describe as a very, _very_ large explosion. Even from his more protective stance, his earlier description of the burning ball in the distance was very accurate.

Staring at it for a few seconds, Gohan finally snapped out of the trance he had stumbled into. Turning on his heels, he dashed towards the ship and into the surprisingly open hull door. Sixteen must've left it open when he left.

Hurrying down the ship's halls, the saiyan rushed into the control room and found his still unconscious compatriots. The faint scent of sleeping gas alerted Gohan to the reason behind their states. Unfortunately, the residue gas was starting to have an effect him on as he felt a subtle drowsiness building up.

No time for that his mind screamed, causing Gohan to dash to Sixteen's unoccupied chair and fire up the ship. Moments passed before the ship rumbled alive. Slowly, the world outside the main window began to sink down before it disappeared in a blink of an eye. Soon, the dead scenery of Earth was replaced by the black void of space.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Gohan leaned his back against the seat rest with his eyes shut. Sleep overcame him soon after.

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: Glad you liked the fight lol. Too bad the Special Beam Cannon didn't work though.


	21. Painted

Sorry this is so late. Spent the last couple days packing my crap up to head back home and completely forgot about updating. Plus that writer's block is really annoying me. Haven't felt like writing for the past couple weeks. It's a good thing I had a couple of these chapters already written. Don't want to stall this story out.

* * *

A large crater sat where a decaying city once stood. A small breeze blew by, kicking up dirt and dust. A sense of solitude encompassed the whole scene.

It had only been mere minutes since the explosion caused by the man formerly known as Jericho Sedici. In a vain attempt to stall the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly, he had activated his self-destruct sequence and blew the whole area to kingdom come. The dead crater was the result of that blast.

Subtly, a low groan began, sounding similar to the cry of the rising undead. Seconds drug on as the groan grew louder and louder until it became an all out cry.

Suddenly, green flames erupted from the ground, roaring high into the air. Smoke and dust scattered all over as a heavy set foot stepped out of the massive fire; the ground crumpling around the boot covered foot.

Then as sudden as they came, the flames died off, leaving a pillar of rising smoke. Standing in front of this phenomenon, a thoroughly pissed Broly seethed in his madness.

Out of all the battles the saiyan had waged in his current form, this one had damaged him not only physically, but mentally; particularly his ego. The wound on his shoulder, the one caused by Gohan's Special Beam Cannon, had become a bright red burn mark. That was nothing new to the saiyan. What was new was the large burn on his chest, the one caused by the walking time bomb of an android. That was what drove the juggernaut deeper into his insanity.

Though his left pant leg was torn, revealing his shin, that went unnoticed by Broly. All he cared about was his anger and his growing appetite for revenge.

The android was a moot point at the moment, seeing as it wasn't in existence anymore. Hmph, the bucket of bolts had probably thought he could take out the living saiyan of legends with that attack. However, that other golden saiyan, the Son of Kakarot; he was alive and well, the perfect target for his vengeance. They would have their rematch quite soon, and this time, Broly would not give his opponent the mercy he had shown him in their last battle.

"I'll get you, Son of Kakarot," Broly growled. "I'll find you and kill you, along with anyone you're with. They will feel my wrath, just as you will. You're mine Son of Kakarot…Son of…Son of…"

Then with a great bellow, Broly shouted "KAKAROT!!"

* * *

The problem with sleeping gas was that it always had a nasty after-effect. Videl was discovering this first hand as she emerged from her unnatural sleep, a slight headache greeting her.

"Ow, my head," the Satan girl complained as she massaged her temples in an attempt to sooth the pain. Through squinted eyes, Videl looked at everyone else in the control room; at least she thought it was the control room since that was the last place she remembered being.

All around, her compatriots were also awakening from their slumbers; each one trying to overcome the sleeping gas effects in their own way. About the only one not was Gohan who was—

That caused Videl's eyes to snap wide open. Shaking her head roughly, she looked back at Sixteen's usual seat and found a slumped Gohan sitting there, silently sleeping.

In that moment, the Satan girl was out of her chair and by the saiyan's side, patting her hands all over his body to make sure he was real. When she had confirmed that her eyes weren't deceiving her at all, Videl let out a sigh of relief. Though his broken armor was a cause for concern, at least the eldest saiyan was accounted for. Gohan was back with them and they were back in space to continue their quest.

Wait a minute, back in space?

Turning her attention to the main window, Videl was met with the monotonous void of space. There was just one problem with that scene.

They were suppose to be on Earth.

Turning her head around, the daughter of Satan saw that the rest of the room's occupants had just made the same conclusion as she had. Something was wrong, dead wrong about this whole situation.

It looked like Gohan's sleep was just gonna have to be put on hold.

"Gohan, wake up!" Videl shouted by his head, causing the saiyan to jolt upright in his seat; a wild look in his eyes. Jerking his head around, he soon calmed down upon seeing the others behind the dark headed girl.

"Why'd you wake me up?" the saiyan finally said.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Videl said. "We all just woke up after being gassed to find you piloting the ship in space. What else would we want to know?"

"Who gassed us?" Goten brought up.

"Were we attacked by someone?" Trunks added.

"Is there any food ready?"

"Can it not be that moldy cheese like last time?"

That caused the other room occupants, besides the two younger saiyans, to sweatdrop. Where were they going with those questions?

"O…kay…" Gohan started. "Which one do you want me to answer first?"

Heading off any other weird questions Goten or Trunks could ask, Videl said "The first one; who gassed us?"

The Son boy sighed. "Sixteen did."

"What?" Tien spoke up. "Sixteen? Why would he? Where is he anyways?"

Gohan stared at the bald human. "I think I can clear up most of those questions by telling you what happened on Earth."

"I think that would be a good idea," the Satan girl said, promptly sitting in the saiyan's lap. This caused the girl to receive a questioning look from Gohan, so she said "I want to make sure I don't miss anything."

Slowly accepting Videl's reason, Gohan said "Well as you know, I was sent down to Earth from the Moon."

"Yep," Goten confirmed. "We were there."

"Well, after I landed, I had to take on Broly. He had been killing off the rest of the humans on Earth and wanted to take me on," Gohan told. "We fought each other and Broly got the upper hand on me. That was when Sixteen arrived. He told me that I had to leave the planet and to leave him behind."

"You left Sixteen behind?!" Tien shouted. "You left him to face that monster?! How could you?!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Gohan shouted back. "He refused to leave the battlefield and took Broly head on. He even mentioned that someone would die." That caused a solemn look to crease his face. "He didn't want me to die so he took my place."

Tien glared at the saiyan. "And you left him to die. How could you? After everything he's done for us, you abandon him."

That was when Goten said "And what did you do for him, Tien?"

The bodyguard turned his glare to the younger Son. "I couldn't do anything; I was knocked out."

"Cause Sixteen didn't want you to interfere with his choice. He had everything planned to prevent anyone from stopping him."

Realization appeared on the bald man's face. "I…I didn't think about that."

"I didn't think you had," Goten said. "The next time you want to accuse my brother on something outside of his control, perhaps you need to consider everything surrounding the circumstances."

"That's enough Goten," Trunks said. "The last thing we need to do is rip into each other."

All the while, a certain corner of the ship remained silent. Hanging his head slightly, Gohan just stared at the ground as Videl held him in her arms; her head close to his ear as she whispered to him. Considering that the Satan girl was usually the most outspoken on the ship, it was a surprise to find that she was being one of the more silent ones. It became obvious why if one were to look and see her doing her best to console the warrior she sat on.

"Guys, I'm taking Gohan to bed," she said after a few moments passed. "He's tired and needs his rest."

Getting off the saiyan's lap, she helped him leave the pilot's seat and guided him out of the room, leaving the others in a somber silence.

Once he was sure that his brother was gone, Goten turned his attention back to the bald human. "Would you like to know why Gohan leaves you behind? Why he takes me and Trunks on all of the missions?"

"Goten, stop it," Trunks warned.

"No Trunks, I've had enough of these humans whining when they aren't included in a fight," the Son boy said. "Just hearing Tien's 'you'll find yourself alone one day' speech was making me boil."

"But it came true," Tien interjected. "Gohan did end up alone and Sixteen had to sacrifice himself to save him."

"And how do you expect him to act?!" Goten shouted. "You like to forget that your race was the one to conquer us. While you lived in the lap of luxury, we had to live like vagabonds, barely even surviving. We didn't even get to socialize with our own race because there was a traitor running amongst us! You know that better than anyone since you were the one Turles reported to."

Tien was stunned silent by the accusation, especially since it was true.

"Do you even know what it took for Gohan to let Piccolo fight with us? He had to save my brother from having a permanent hole in his face, courtesy of a blitz rifle. It also helped that Piccolo was also a Namekian, one that your race did a genocide on."

"You've made your point, Goten," Trunks spoke up. "We're all high strung right now—"

"I'm not done," the Son boy said surprisingly cool. "Gohan always uses a tactic he knows will work. Usually his plans hinge on who is with him. Since he knows how we'll act in any given situation, he'll choose us to fight with him."

"Now hold on," Tien said. "We've fought with you since the three of you tore down Earth's government. I even helped you do it. Then there was the Namek incident too."

"And where was Gohan to witness this?" Goten shot back. "He was in a coma for most of it, so how was he to know he could trust your fighting ability? My brother goes with what works, and everything goes well when it's him, Trunks, and me. Not much worry is needed when we're involved; and having to worry about anyone else just disrupts our fight. That's why my brother leaves you humans behind; that's why he only involves us three saiyans; and that's why we're all living right now. I'm sorry that Sixteen is dead, I truly am; but not every fight is going to have a storybook ending."

And with that, Goten turned to Trunks and said "There, I've made my point." Standing up, the saiyan then left the room, followed shortly by Erasa, who had watched the whole thing with wide eyes.

"You know, despite how high strung we all are," Trunks finally said, "I agree with him."

All Tien could do was hang his head, a look of shame on his face.

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: Thanks. To date, this is my most favorite fight. Writing it was a blast.


	22. The War

Melancholy was the best word to describe the mood on the ship. After the loss of Sixteen and the subsequent explosion of emotion between the saiyan/human group, there had been relatively little contact between the ship's occupants. An occasional greeting was about as thorough as a conversation went; the exceptions being the interactions between Gohan and Videl and Goten and Erasa.

That had lasted a solid week until their ship had arrived at their desired location. Of all places the last key had to be, it was on a stationary asteroid. With the entire group in the control room, the silent question of how they would explore the giant rock became an increasing worry. None of them had the capability to live long without breathing air and an asteroid in the middle of space wasn't the prime location for such a vital resource.

That concern, however, proved to have been for naught. As they drew closer to the asteroid, they found a hole in the rocky side that had a strange anomaly. What appeared to be a lightly, rainbow colored shield hovered in front of the cave mouth. Beyond it, flat ground sat, ready for their ship to land on it.

That was all the confirmation they needed to know that their prize was somewhere on this space rock; though there wasn't any reason to doubt the directions they had been given by the last relic key.

Slowly, they eased the ship into the cavernous crevice and landed it soon after.

"So what's the plan?" Trunks brought up.

"We're probably gonna need everyone out looking for that key," Gohan answered. "Though it would be best if Erasa stayed on the ship."

"I agree," Goten said quickly.

Little else was said after that as the three saiyans, Tien, and Videl left the ship. Though surprised that the cave was habitable, they pushed that thought away as they looked around the cavern. Quickly, they found a brightly lit area of the cave where yellow sand sat; three stone doorways standing at the walls.

And standing in the middle of the sand cover portion of the room was Cell.

"Well it's about time you all arrived," the green android announced.

Immediately, all five warriors had dropped into fighting stances. However, what came out of the android's mouth soon after surprised them all.

"There's no need for all of you to fight," Cell said. "I wish to fight little Goten there. He and I have a little score to settle. The rest of you I could care less about."

That momentarily stunned the group until Gohan said "Think you can deal with him Goten?"

"Should be a piece of cake," the younger Son boy answered.

"Fine, you take care of that walking bug while we go on ahead," Gohan said. "You catch up as soon as you can."

"There's just one problem with that," Trunks piped up. "There are three doors and we don't know which one leads to the key."

"And Gero and the other androids are probably here too," Tien spoke up.

"Good point," the saiyan said. "Alright, we'll have to split up. Videl and I will take the door on the right; Trunks, you take the middle; and Tien, you have the left. Understood?"

"Roger," was Trunks' response.

Cautiously, the four fighters made their way to the doors, keeping their guards up as they passed Cell and then entered their designated doors.

"Alone at last," Cell finally said once it was only him and Goten.

"I take it you've been waiting awhile," Goten said as he began to stretch.

"That I have saiyan," the android said. "And this time I will defeat you. Prepare to die!"

That was when Cell charged at Goten, letting out a war cry. In response, the Son boy dropped into a defensive stance and awaited his opponent.

With a swing of his arm, Cell threw the first punch, which Goten caught easily enough. Not hesitating, the android began throwing a flurry of punches and kicks at his opponent; the saiyan blocking each and every strike.

Growling, the android used a burst of speed to disappear from sight, reappearing in midair behind the saiyan, swing a kick at his opponent's head. Goten, however, turned the top half of his body and raised an arm, blocking the attack successfully.

"Not having much luck, are ya?" the saiyan taunted, much to the irritation of Cell. Bending his arm at the elbow, Goten extended his arm and grabbed onto the android's leg. Twisting his torso back to its normal position, the saiyan swung the android and threw him away.

The green android recovered himself quickly in air, spinning himself to face his foe down. That was when he noticed Goten was missing from his previous spot. Surprised, Cell was left wide open for attack as the saiyan fighter suddenly appeared right behind him and nailed him with a kick to the side of his head. Because of the blow, the android was sent careening into the ground.

"There, that's how you fight," Goten said, smirking at his fallen foe.

Cell was back on his feet instantly, snarling at the saiyan. "Watch your tongue, monkey! This fight won't go your way this time!"

The Son boy put both of his hands behind his head and relaxed his body, attempting to portray his boredom with the fight. "That's what you said that last couple times. You haven't improved at all either so I see no point in watching what I say."

"Oh, you will," the android threatened. "I've a couple new moves since our first meeting; ones that will surprise even you."

Holding out a hand to his side, the android gathered his energy into it, molding it until a large golden disk floated above his palm. "And here's one of them!" Cell cried out just before he threw it. "Destructo Disk!"

Goten's eyes widened immediately as a slight flashback of a small human using the technique filled his mind. The saiyan was pretty sure it belonged to that hubby of one of the government officials he had fought back on Earth and if he remembered correctly, that was one attack he couldn't afford to mess with. Leaping into the air, the disk barely missed the Son Boy before it sliced into the cave wall; right next to the left most door.

Turning his attention away from the cut in the wall, Goten found himself on the wrong side of another Destructo Disk. The only thing that kept him from being cut in half was his body's immediate reaction as he felt himself twist his body to his left.

Unfortunately, the Son boy wasn't left unscathed by the attack. As the disk flew by him, its edge bit into his right shoulder, slicing right through it and continuing into a wall like its predecessor.

Gripping his shoulder as blood began to pour from his wound, Goten silently cursed. He had gotten cocky again and now was bleeding profusely. Concentrating, the saiyan gathered his ki into his hand until it glowed brightly. Pressing it against his wound, he hissed from the intense sting as the heat from his energy seared his skin; sealing his wound in the process. It wasn't an ideal way to deal with his injury but at the moment, it was all he could do.

Then out of nowhere, Cell rushed in and nailed a kick to his face, snapping his head to a side and sending him stumbling back. Taking advantage of his opponent's unguarded state, the green android stiffed his fingers together, the thumb curled into his palm. Raising it over his head, the bug-like fighter sent the chop down onto Goten's wounded shoulder, causing him to scream in pain.

With the same hand, Cell then grabbed the strap of his armor, making sure his opponent didn't put any distance between them. Balling his other hand into a fist, he began lashing out a series of punches into Goten's face; each blow connecting. "What do you think of this?!" the android cried out before he threw his hardest punch yet; releasing his grip on Goten's armor strap, and letting him flying into the cave wall.

To say that Goten was mad would've been an understatement at the moment. His rage completely consumed him as his vision went red. He'd tear that walking piece of scrap metal to shreds and piss on his remains. All he had to do was get his hands on the green bug-man and that would be the end of everything.

That, however, was easier said than done. At the present moment, his shoulder was throbbing with pain, which hindered his movement. He was gonna have to think of someway to get around that or his inferior opponent would single-handedly defeat him.

And there was no way he would allow that.

"Well, well, the tough, little monkey isn't so tough anymore," Cell taunted. "I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see you in pain."

It took all of Goten's willpower to keep himself from cursing the android.

"But you know, every time I gave you a moment's time, you'd just take advantage of it," the android commented.

This time, Goten couldn't help retort to that claim. "I didn't need any 'moment's time' to beat you, you overgrown weed whacker."

"Is that right?" the bug replied. "Well then, why don't I give you a refresher? How would you like to be killed with the very attack that you killed me with? The one that you copied with just one showing."

The Son boy's eyes narrowed in response; not the reaction the android had wanted but it would have to do. Plenty of time to savor the moment he defeated his killer later.

Slowly, Cell slide into the familiar crouch stance, both hands cupped and held to his right. "Ka…maa…" he chanted soon after.

Soon, bright blue energy began appearing in his hands as he pressed on with his chant. "Haaa…maaaa…"

And that was as far with the technique as Cell got. With a sudden jerk of his uninjured arm, Goten gathered his ki and fired it; the beam aimed right at the glowing ball of energy in the android's hands.

Before Cell could do anything, the ki blast slammed into his ball of gathered energy and exploded; causing his own energy to destabilize and explode right in his hands. A brilliant ball of flames erupted, throwing both saiyan and android across the room and out into the area the only ship stood.

Unfortunately for Goten, he had landed right on his bad shoulder, causing him to scream in pain once more. On top of that, blood began to leak through the scalded flesh; not as alarming as the initial wound but something to keep an eye on.

And that would be all the saiyan would give it as his attention was firmly on Cell, who was lying on his back and staring at his arms in horror. About half of his forearms were gone, along with his hands. Jagged portions of the android's outer "shell" stuck out as electricity danced over his ruined stumps; wires and bits of machinery plainly visible within his arms.

Immediately, Goten was on his feet, approaching his handicapped opponent. Cell took immediate notice of this tried to get back on his feet. Letting his rage get the better of him, the saiyan let out a war cry as his aura flared around him. A sudden, intense wind erupted from the warrior's body and flew at the android; causing him to be slammed back down onto his back, dazed from the invisible blow.

A moment later, Goten was at the android's side, standing on one foot by the bug's head. With one leg raised as high as he could, Goten used as much force as he could summon and sent his foot racing down, landing on Cell's stunned face.

However, instead of the saiyan's foot colliding with the android's face, it smashed it as his head caved in. Sparks and smoke jumped from the ruined head while the rest of Cell's body lay limp.

* * *

Tien walked down a long stone corridor. Shortly after leaving Goten to take on the "new and improved" Cell, the human had discovered the door he had taken was an entrance into a labyrinth, much like the one they had entered before their journey back to Earth. After a few twists and turns, the bald bodyguard had found this passageway and had been walking it ever since.

"You're a disgrace to your kind."

Tien jerked his head to look behind him, finding Gero standing a decent distance away with his arms behind his back. "And how am I a disgrace?"

One of Gero's eyes twitched. "You choose to fight with our enemy instead of the human race. That only makes you lower than dirt."

"You're one to talk Gero," the bodyguard shot back. "You're just a senile old man who still thinks he's done nothing wrong."

"I did nothing wrong!" the android roared. "Everything I've done was in the best interest of Earth; nothing more, nothing less. That's something none of you traitors can understand."

"Then how do you justify killing off every single race we've come into contact with?" the bald man retorted. "Was genocide the only option your brain could come up with? Because of you, humanity has become the laughing stock of the universe. Under your reasoning, that's lower than the saiyans that I fight along side of."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Gero replied. "No one knew the sacrifices I had to make in order for our very survival."

"And would those sacrifices be the good name of our people? A war with the Cold Empire that ultimately destroyed our military? You lived in luxury within the capital building while everyone else lived in poverty. So tell me, what did you give up Gero?"

"Stop calling me by that name," Gero responded. "The name of Gero is dead. I am Twenty now."

"What ever you say," Tien said.

At that moment, Twenty decided to attack; firing twin beams from his eyes. Acting on instinct, the bald human ducked the beams, the heat from the attack making itself known on the fighter's head. Not wasting any time, Tien rushed at the old android, keeping low to the ground as he used his top speed.

As he neared Twenty, Tien straightened his legs out, causing him to spring at his opponent. With his left fist drawn back, the bodyguard swung the fist and nailed his foe right in his check. In response, Twenty's body jerked backwards, along with his head turning to a side, as he absorbed the force behind the blow. Unfortunately for Tien, though, that was the only result he got.

Slowly, Twenty shifted his cold blue eyes to look at Tien; an eerie stare fixed on his face. Then with a quick movement, he brought his left hand over his chest; balled into a fist. Without hesitating, the android swung the fist out, nailing Tien in the head and sending him straight into the wall; where a nice sized hole was created.

Turning himself, Twenty approached the hole to continue the fight. However, just as he reached the opening, a shout of "Solar Flare!" was heard, followed by a blinding white light.

That was the point where Twenty made his first mistake. Putting his faith into his mechanical eyes, he stared straight into the light for as long as he could before he let out a pained yelp. Shutting his eyes tightly, he cringed away from the intensity. That was when the android discovered that his eyes had taken on more damage than he had thought possible.

Almost immediately after he had shut his eyelids, instead of the typical blackness he had expected, a fuzzy static appeared. Rapidly, he opened his eyes and still saw the static. That light, what ever it had been, had fried his optic sensors and rendered his eyes useless. Of all the times to lose one's eyesight, it had to be then.

As Twenty took notice of his sudden blindness, Tien had reappeared from the hole and discovered the same thing the once Earth ruler had. His opponent was now sightless and a sitting duck for attack. Gathering his ki, he fired a ki blast; one he hoped would defeat his opponent.

Unfortunately, Twenty had a sensor for detecting ki, and it went off the moment the bodyguard had begun gathering his energy. Sticking one of his arms to his side, he caught the blast easily and promptly absorbed it; the whole blast disappearing into the jewel in his palm.

"You should've struck me," Twenty commented drily. "Now I know exactly where you are, traitor." Instantly, a purplish ball of energy appeared in his hand and was fired directly at Tien.

Reacting, the bald bodyguard crossed both of his arms in front of him and took the brunt of the attack as it exploded around him and covered the place with smoke. Surprisingly, the blast hadn't been very strong at all considering his opponent had just absorbed a nice chunk of his ki. Realization dawned on him that the beam hadn't been meant to destroy him as Twenty's hand burst from the smoke and clamped down on his face, specifically on his mouth.

Tien immediately shot his hands up and wrapped them around the android's forearm. That was all he was able to do as he felt his ki start leaving his body, steadily weakening him. "I've got you now, traitor," Twenty said coolly. "And I won't be letting you go."

'I…can't let this happen,' the bodyguard thought. Gathering his ki into his hand, he was about to aim it right at his opponent's fast at point blank range when he horrifyingly discovered that gathered ki disappearing from his body instantly. He was now without his ki and powerless to stop it from being stolen. He could even feel his strength waning as his grip on his foe's arm began to loosen.

Suddenly, Twenty's head cocked to a side. "I'm detecting energy nearby," he spoke.

That was when a giant, golden disk shot out of the wall. Fortunately for Tien, he disk came nowhere near him. Unfortunately for Twenty though, the disk sliced right through him, cutting him in half at his waist. Because of that, the android lost his grip on Tien and fell to the ground helpless.

Stumbling backwards, the bodyguard breathed heavily as his energy slowly began to come back to him. If his eyes weren't deceiving him, that was a Destructo Disk that saved his butt. How anyone knew Krillen's signature technique was beyond that man but he wasn't gonna mess up his latest opportunity to defeat Twenty.

Looking at the android, he saw his bottom half lying on its butt; electricity dancing from the exposed waist. The top half of Twenty was lying on his chest with the same dancing bolts on at his stomach. Unlike his legs though, his arms were moving around, trying to move his body around in some fashion.

Leaping into the air, Tien landed right next to the android on one leg; his other leg suspended in air due to his knee being bent. With as much strength as he could muster, he slammed his foot right onto Twenty's neck, causing the old man to cry out in pain. Not stopping, Tien continued to raise his leg and stomp it down on the android's neck; repeating it until a loud crack was heard.

Breathing hard, the bodyguard soon saw the fruits of his labor; Twenty's head separated from his body and his neck thoroughly crushed. However, the human fighter's work wasn't done just yet. Twenty's head was still functional as an outraged snarl escaped from his mouth. Gathering as much ki as he could into his hand, he aimed it at the decapitated head and fired it; the blast incinerating its target.

And with that, Tien dropped to his knees and then his chest, laying in the middle of the hall exhausted. He had no more energy left to continue on search, at least for the time being.

A nice nap was looking to be a very good idea at the moment.

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: I think Broly's more dangerous when he's in full control of himself. He already fights with reckless abandon much like someone who's not using their brain fully. Most people tend to wonder how much a certain action is gonna hurt rather than just going through it.


	23. Quote

Trunks couldn't help but notice the slight tremors that had suddenly began. He had no idea what was causing them but he felt like they were growing stronger and stronger.

Standing in a hallway, the young saiyan didn't know what his best course of action would be. However, he did feel the shaking coming from his left side.

That was when the wall burst apart, Tretton's large blue body plowing through with a large smirk on his face. With one arm drawn back, he swung his fist at the oddly colored saiyan.

Reacting, Trunks ducked the punch as it slammed into the wall behind him. Purely on instinct, the warrior threw his own punch, which landed right on his opponent's chest. Surprisingly, the punch actually affected the brute as he flinched backwards, slightly stunned. That gave Trunks the perfect opportunity to perform his next move.

Dashing away from Tretton, Trunks hauled ass down the hallway, never looking back.

Comically, Tretton blinked in disbelief at his retreating opponent. What in the world was that guy doing? "Hey, get back here!" he barked before storming after him.

"Why do I always get the tough guys?!" Trunks yelled to himself. Seriously, why was it always him? Goten and Gohan always got the easier ones; but not him. There was a deity that wanted him dead, he was sure of it.

Suddenly, the saiyan saw a light at the end of the passageway. Before he knew it, he was in a wide, open space. Well, this was better than fighting in a hallway. Trying to stop himself, Trunks ended up skidding on the floor with his feet. As that skidding slowed him down, he twisted his body around to face the entrance he had just used. Quickly, he stuck his arms in the air before swinging them about in a fast, repetitive motion. At the end of the pattern, he stuck his hands straight in front of himself; his palms facing out with his fingers spread apart; the tips of his thumbs and forefingers touching. It was just in time too as Tretton came running into the room.

"Burning Attack!" Trunks shouted as a medium sized ki ball fired from his hands, racing towards its blue target. Unprepared for the attack, Tretton ran into it head on as flames and smoke erupted around him.

However, the android wasn't so easily taken down. Emerging from the smoke, Tretton was still running as if he hadn't been hit, both of his arms crossed in front of his face. With a jerk, his arms were at his side as he closed the distance between him and Trunks.

The moment he was within hitting distance, the blue android swung a punch. Reacting, Trunks ducked the punch, moving backwards as he did so.

Undeterred, Tretton began throwing punch after punch at his opponent, all the while moving forward while the oddly colored saiyan dodged and backed away from the fists. That was until after one punch, instead of backing away, Trunks leapt up into the air and slammed his knee into Tretton's chin. The blow caused the android's head to snap up as the saiyan flipped in midair after the contact and landed back on the ground a short distance away.

"You're a bit slower Tretton," Trunks called out, a small grin on his face.

"Watch your tongue, monkey!" Tretton shouted as he twisted his body to face his foe and raised an arm; a red energy blast firing from his hand shortly after.

In response, Trunks kept one of his feet planted as the other moved behind it while he maintained his stance, causing his torso to turn to a side. Keeping his head in place, Trunks watched his opponent as the blast flew beside him. The saiyan couldn't help but smirk as he saw the look of irritation on Tretton's face becoming more heated. Letting out a cry, the android began firing multiple energy blasts at the oddly colored saiyan.

Once again, Trunks just moved one leg which caused his body to turn with it. However, the moment that foot touched the ground, he was moving his other leg to put it behind like before. This caused a bizarre looking dance to occur as Trunks just kept avoiding each and every beam.

Throughout this, Trunks couldn't help but notice how easily he was handling this fight. The last time the two had met, the saiyan prince had been on the tail end of a butt-whooping. Since that fight, the boy hadn't really been in too many fights; the one with Wheelo only coming to mind. Perhaps his recovery from both encounters had increased his power considerably; that was the only explanation he could think of.

"That's it!" the blue android shouted as he ended his energy blast barrage. "I've had it with your toyin'! I'll make sure to blow you into itty, bitty pieces with this next attack!"

Holding his hands out in front of him, a decent sized, red energy ball appeared; a transparent sphere surrounding it soon after. "S.S. Deadly Bomber!" Tretton shouted as he brought the attack over his head and threw it at his opponent.

Instantly, Trunks had his sword drawn and ready to use. As the ball raced closer to him, he suddenly disappeared, reappearing a small distance behind it, crouched. Before Trunks had used his speed, his blade had been held out diagonally in front of his body. When he had appeared on the other side of the attack, his sword was now held at his side, pointing away from him. That was when the Deadly Bomber split in half, looking like two miniature forms of the original ball, and drifted away from each other. A second later, both halves destabilized and exploded into clouds of smoke.

To say Tretton was stunned was an understatement. Never had he thought his Deadly Bomber could be sliced in half. He was losing this fight; something he had to change right then and there.

Letting out a war cry, the android rushed towards Trunks. Before he reached him though, he suddenly disappeared, catching the saiyan off guard for a moment. That was all Tretton needed as he suddenly appeared right in front of his opponent, his bulky knee imbedded into his stomach.

Spit flew from the saiyan's mouth as he leaned over the knee. However, before Tretton could do anything else, Trunks used a burst of speed to disappear once more, reappearing midair behind the android's head; his leg being swung to land a kick on the blue hulk's head.

Tretton let out a yelp of pain as he stumbled forward. Turning to look behind him, he saw Trunks landing a decent distance away once again. Growling, the android fully turned his body to face the saiyan, raising his arms up and forming another Deadly Bomber. Copying the same movements as before, raising the attack above his head, he threw it at the saiyan.

And like last time, Trunks drew his sword and used his speed to rush in again, slicing the Deadly Bomber into two small ones.

However, instead of exploding, both halves drifted through the air before making U-turns, moving in to attack Trunks from behind. Had the saiyan not seen the smug look on Tretton's face, the tactic would've worked. Leaping high into the air, Trunks let out a curse as both red balls followed his trail.

"Damn it," Trunks said aloud as he sheathed his sword. He should've known the same trick wouldn't have worked again; now he had two of those nasty balls after him. Flaring his aura around him, the saiyan took off flying through the air; the two Deadly Bombers racing after him.

Altering his flight, Trunks headed for the floor, landing on it in a crouched position. However, he didn't stay in that spot for long, running towards Tretton with the homing attacks still following him.

Tretton, however, saw an opportunity. As Trunks dashed towards him, the blue android began charging at the saiyan, aiming to nail him with a punch that would force him to be hit by his Deadly Bombers.

As the two fighters closed in on each other, Trunks suddenly disappeared from sight, appearing far behind the android. Realizing what had just happened, Tretton tried to stop his momentum but was too late as his own attacks rammed into his torso and exploded on him.

"You think he would've known I was gonna do that," Trunks commented as he watched the large cloud of smoke. In all honesty, the oddly colored saiyan hadn't expected that tactic to work. He wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth though.

As the smoke cloud dissipated, Tretton was revealed, pissed off; the white chest plate on his upper body cracked all over. "I'm gonna make you pay for that," he threatened. "I'm gonna tear ya ta shreds and make a Thanksgivin' dinna out of your remains!"

Trunks smirked. Not only had his tactic worked, but it had also damaged the large android. All he had to do now was focus the majority of his attacks on that area of Tretton's body and the fight would be his.

There was just one problem; Tretton wasn't the type to just let him have his way. He would have to plan each and every move he did to the smallest detail.

And that was where another obstacle made itself known. Trunks wasn't too sure any of his techniques could have the same impact as the android's own attacks. Well, at least any techniques he could charge up quickly. About the only move he could consider was his Big Tree Cannon, but Tretton had already seen the capabilities of that.

And unfortunately for the saiyan, his blue opponent had finally allowed his anger to consume him. With a war cry, the android charged at the warrior like a raging bull. With a fist drawn back, Tretton threw it with as much force as he could muster.

Reacting, Trunks ducked the punch and threw his own counterattack punch, which landed on the android's cracked chest plate. Satisfaction welled up into the saiyan as he noticed the dent and new creation of cracks form at the point of his punch's impact.

That, however, left him wide open for a vicious left hook that stunned the oddly colored saiyan. Drawing back his right arm again, Tretton threw an uppercut that nailed Trunks under his chin, sending him off the ground and drifting towards the roof. The android stopped that result quickly as he used his left hand to grab onto his opponent's leg; stopping the upward momentum. With his other arm pulled back once more, Tretton threw another brutal punch that nailed Trunks in the groin.

An inhuman scream flew from Trunks' mouth. The amount of pain he was feeling was incredible. If he could've died right then and there, he would've gladly embraced death.

Alas, he didn't get his wish as he was still alive and very conscious. Tretton, though, wasn't done with his assault. Releasing Trunks' leg, he aimed his hand right at the fighter's chest and gathered his red energy into his palm; firing an energy blast that sent the saiyan flying into the wall behind him.

After his unwilling body slam into the wall, Trunks fell to the ground, clutching his throbbing crotch. That low blow was still affecting him, keeping him off his feet as he tried to recover from the hit. The bad thing was the saiyan doubted he could even defend himself in his current state; not an ideal position while sharing a room with a bloodthirsty android.

Heavy footsteps alerted Trunks to Tretton's approach. "If you think that's the worst I can put ya through, you're sorely mistaken," he said. "I ain't done with beatin' ya ta death."

Trunks looked at the approaching android with apprehension. What ever that blue hulk had in mind would surely not be pleasant to the saiyan; most likely more damaging than a shot to the crown jewels. He needed to think of something fast or he wouldn't be living in one piece soon.

But what could he do? The guy was practically impenetrable; not to mention that metal skeleton of his. The last time, he had been able to slice through it without difficulty with his sword. Their previous match had informed him that his opponent's outer skin had been improved to withstand that sort of attack.

But that sword immunity should've been true for the skeleton as well, at least the first time. The fact that the metal didn't conduct ki was what made it vulnerable the last time…

And then it hit him. Trunks needed to put as much ki into one of his fists and strike with it. With the weakened state of his chest plate, that was the ideal place to land his attack. Only problem was getting the necessary ki needed in order to make his hit successful. With his body trying to adjust to the painful jolts in his system, it would make the task more difficult then it had to be.

Oh well, can't have everything.

Gathering his ki, albeit distorted from his usual method, Trunks noticed that Tretton had stopped his march and stood right in front of him, staring down at him with a predatory look. "You're up to somethin'," the android commented. "My sensors tell me you're powerin' up; but what for? You gonna blast me or somethin'?"

Though it took all of his willpower, Trunks stopped himself from smirking. That would've given his true motive away and he needed every advantage he could get.

Leaning down, Tretton grabbed the armor strap of Trunks' armor and pulled him off the ground. "Well, don't bother with your plan. It ain't gonna work on me, monkey." With his other hand, he began charging up his own energy, forming a red orb in his palm. "Get ready for a new world of pain."

As quick as lightning, Trunks threw his ki charged fist at Tretton; the punch landing on the cracked chest armor and breaking right through it. The devastating blow caught the android off his guard, causing him to widen his eyes from shock and lose control of his gathered energy. The red ball faded from his hand soon after as Tretton looked down at the arm sticking out of his chest; an ominous, golden glow emanating from within the wound and up his opponent's arm.

That was when his saiyan opponent allowed a growl to leave his lips. "Die already you son of a bitch! Die!" And with that, Trunks released all of his gathered ki within the blue android's body.

Almost immediately, golden light shot out of the android's eyes and mouth as he began to scream. Soon after, small rays of energy began to burst out all over his body. Gradually, the lights became stronger and stronger until a giant pillar of energy burst from in between his shoulders, enveloping his head.

A moment later, Trunks stopped pouring out his energy and watched as the rays of ki dim away and leave the small openings they had used all over the android's body. The biggest hole was the one where his head should've been; said head completely gone.

Reaching up, Trunks grabbed onto the deceased Tretton's hand and pried it off his armor strap. Falling to the ground, the saiyan watched as his opponent's lifeless body teetered backwards and crash to the ground.

Letting out a sigh of relief, the warrior sprawled over the ground he laid on; finally getting the time he needed to recover.


	24. Cold But I'm Still Here

Gohan and Videl raced down the corridor they found themselves in. After leaving Goten behind to fight Cell, it hadn't taken them long to sense Tien and Trunks starting their own fights. Since there had been three fights already, that left one android unaccounted for.

While there could've been a two on one fight with two androids against either Tien or Trunks, it seemed unlikely since previous battles with this group showed a strong urge for one-on-one fights.

As she ran with the saiyan, Videl couldn't help but notice how she was keeping up with him. After some startling revelations, the Satan girl had figured the Son boy would've left her in the dust a long time ago. Whether he was keeping his speed down to a point she could keep up or she could actually maintain a high speed with him, she didn't know but she wasn't gonna question it at this time. There were more important matters to worry about.

Like where the relic key was along with that last android.

Up ahead, the pair noticed the hall ended and a room was revealed. Keeping at their pace, they entered the chamber and were relieved to find that it held an altar in it; one that held a stone key on its podium. There was just one problem.

Between them and the altar stood Angie Zeventien, his arms crossed over his chest and an arrogant smirk on his face.

"I've been waiting for you," he called out once Gohan and Videl came into the room and stopped upon noticing him. "Do you know how boring a place like this gets when you aren't fighting someone?"

A stern look came over Gohan's face. "Videl, I want you to stay out of this fight; you hear me? This is between me and him."

"Like Hell I'm staying out!" Videl exclaimed. "I'm not gonna be sitting on the sidelines when I could be helping you."

"This fight is way over your head," the saiyan retorted, one of his eyes looking at her while the other made sure Angie didn't try any surprise attacks. "You'll only get hurt."

"That's what fighting's all about," the Satan girl countered. "Besides, I refuse to sit aside and let you get injured. I won't allow my inaction to hurt you like it did when Gero stabbed you with his hand."

A small silence passed before Gohan said the most liberating words to her; one's that elated her. "Choose your striking times carefully. I wouldn't want to hurt you on accident. Also, try not to use too many ki blasts. He can absorb them and use it to become stronger."

"I got ya," Videl confirmed as she began to smirk.

"Well, I'm glad you got over your spat," Angie taunted as his arms dropped to his sides. "But now its time we got down to business."

With both of his eyes back on the android, the saiyan answered "Impatient to die huh?"

Angie snorted. "Unlikely. The only one dying here is you, followed by your little girlfriend there. Or perhaps you'd like me to kill her first. Get rid of any baggage you may have."

Slowly, a golden aura began to envelop the Son boy before it quicken and raged around him; his familiar blond hair and teal eyes becoming apparent. "You were nothing more than talk the first time I killed you; there won't be much of a difference this time."

Angie's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that." Raising both of his hands up, the tips of his fingers glowed a bright yellow before each tip fired an energy beam; the beams racing towards its targets.

Before Gohan could even gesture for Videl to get out of the way, the Satan girl had slipped behind him, using him as a shield for the attack. Reacting as the beams drew near, the Super Saiyan swung one of his arms out and swatted away a beam away; repeating that action with his other hand as well. Oddly enough, only a few blasts had come anywhere near hurting the saiyan; something that didn't sit well with him.

That was when Angie came charging in and slammed his right into Gohan's face, causing him to whip his head to a side. Heeding his instructions, Videl dashed away from the two fighters, putting distance between the two. Counterattacking, the Son boy threw his own punch, one that was easily dodged by his opponent who threw another one at him. A series of punches and kicks were soon thrown by each combatant; neither of them landing a blow as each one was blocked, dodged, or parried.

It was this time Videl found herself staring at the fight with a clear shot at Angie's back. Though Gohan had warned her of using ki blasts, she knew she had a good shot at making a difference in this fight. Charging up her ki, she raised both her arms in front of her and fired a ki blast.

And as she had hoped, her blast nailed the android in the back, causing him to flinch from the sudden detonation on his back. Though only a few burn marks were the only obvious damage to him, to the Satan girl's dismay, it was enough for him to drop his guard as Gohan slammed his elbow into the man's face, keeping him stunned.

Crouching down a bit, the Son boy slammed several punches into Angie's unguarded stomach, causing the android to bend down as he lost his breath. Then with as much strength as he could gather, Gohan slammed his fist into his opponent's face, sending him flying away. Fortunately, Videl had moved again, making sure she wasn't in the way of the flying android.

To say that Gohan was surprised by how careful Videl was being would've been an understatement. His original thought was that she'd be attacking with reckless abandon, making herself more of a hindrance than an asset. Perhaps this fight would be easier than he thought.

"You're better than I thought," Angie said, taking his time while getting back onto his feet. The android had been slammed up against the altar, cracking its base; though it was surprisingly still intact. The tall fighter had sat on his haunches as he recovered before attempting to get back into the fight.

"That's what happens when you overestimate yourself," Gohan replied with a smirk. "I'm not sure how they teach people to fight on Earth, but where I come from, they teach us to never underestimate our opponent and overestimate ourselves."

"I was talking about the girl," Angie shouted back, obviously irritated.

The smirk never left the saiyan's face. "So was I."

That comment pushed the android over the edge, causing him to shout a war cry and charge his opponent. Holding one arm in front of him, he fired an energy blast towards his foe.

In response, Gohan leapt into the air, the energy blast exploding where he last stood. Keeping his eyes on his opponent, the saiyan saw Angie stop his charge as he landed on the ground, a very displeased look on his face as he raised his arm higher up and fired another energy blast.

Keeping his current flight, the beam flew underneath the warrior, just like its predecessor. However, before Angie could fire another blast, Videl had entered the fray again, landing a kick on his face and causing his head to jerk to aside.

That was when the android shocked both Gohan and Videl when his hand suddenly grabbed the girl's leg and a smirk covered his face. He had been setting that situation up the whole time, much to both fighters' dismay. Pulling, Angie swung the Satan girl in the air and sent her flying away. With the same arm, he straightened it out and fired an energy blast after her, intending on knocking her out of the fight…permanently.

Once again, astonishment caught the saiyan and android. Instead of being nailed by the energy attack, at the last moment Videl used a burst of speed to disappear, leaving the beam to fly away harmlessly.

This time, Gohan went on the attack, using his own burst of speed to appear right in front of Angie and ram his knee into his face. Unlike Videl's blow, this one stunned the android, leaving him open for attack.

Holding his arm in front of him, Gohan extended the appendage, his hand latching onto Angie's face and forcing him to the ground; his head colliding and cracking it due to the force, sending up a cloud of smoke.

Watching that move, Videl was amazed by the extra long arm of her comrade's. Never had she heard of a saiyan stretching their anatomy before. Hopefully the saiyan would explain how exactly he did that after their fight.

Landing on the ground next to Angie's fallen body, Gohan quickly moved to grab the android's leg. Using all of his strength, he picked his opponent's body off the ground, swung it over his head, and slammed him back onto the ground. Still hanging onto the man's leg, the saiyan twisted his body to a side, swinging the android off the ground, and threw him towards a wall. Charging up his ki, Gohan was just about to fire the expected ki blast when he stopped in his tracks.

Although Angie appeared to be helpless as he careened towards the wall, it was quite possible he was just waiting for a chance to absorb some of his ki. Lowering his arm down, the saiyan released his hold on his power and waited for his opponent's next move.

As it turned out, it had been fortunate that Gohan stayed his blast. Instead of crashing into the wall, Angie's arm shot out in front of him, pressing up against the wall a second later. Bending his elbows, the android straightened them and swung his lower body upward, causing him to rebound off the wall and fly up into the air.

Not allowing him to recover any further, Gohan launched himself at the android, swinging a fist at him once he got close to his upside-down foe. In response, Angie dodged the blow and threw one of his own in retaliation; this one also being dodged. Soon, both fighters were throwing, dodging, blocking, and landing punches. Looking at it from afar, it looked pretty odd to see one of the fighter's upside-down.

Their stalemate of punches came to an end soon though, with Angie nailing Gohan in the stomach, causing him to bend over somewhat. Taking advantage of the situation, the android, swung one of his legs and landed the kick on the saiyan's shoulder, sending him falling to the ground.

Fortunately, Gohan recovered himself before he hit the floor; landing on his feet and pushing off against the ground, dashing away.

Angie, however, merely smirked before using a burst of speed to disappear from sight. The next thing Gohan or Videl knew, the android had reappeared with his elbow nailing the saiyan in the back of his head, causing him to crash to the ground, skidding a short distance away.

Staring at his fallen opponent, Angie couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face. Though the fight had been pretty even, he was enjoying the shots his was delivering to his foe. However, he wouldn't let his current satisfaction get the better of him as he suddenly noticed a glow appear at the corner of his eye. Turning his attention to, he saw the Satan girl firing a ki blast at him.

With his smirk firmly fixed, he straightened his body out and raised an arm up, catching the blast with his hand. A second later, he could feel the energy flowing into his body, energizing him.

Videl, on the other hand, looked bewildered upon seeing her attack being absorbed. She had already landed a blast on the guy earlier and nothing like this had occurred then. It wasn't until her entire beam had been absorbed did she finally realized why. The jewel in the android's hand had finally revealed itself to the girl and reminded her about Gohan's warning before the fight. Damn it all! She had just given this guy an energy boost!

"I have to thank you for that," Angie said haughtily. "I've been needing a quick charge for the past few minutes. Allow me to show my appreciation by killing you with the same energy you just gave me."

The next thing the Satan girl knew, Angie was right in front of her, his knee firmly imbedded in her stomach. A quick gasp shot out of her mouth, along with some spit. Pain was running rampant throughout her body, paralyzing her where she stood.

In the meantime, Angie crossed his arm over his chest. Then with a swing, he backhanded the dark headed girl across her face, sending her flying away. Videl landed on the floor a distance away, skidding even further. It took her a few seconds before she began to move, slowly sitting up as she held one of her arms. Her shoulder hadn't taken her crash all too well as a throbbing pain ran all through it. It even hurt when she tried to move it at all. Not a good situation for her at the moment.

Fortunately, Angie hadn't continued his assault on her, giving her a little time to recover a bit. However, she soon wished he had when she turned to look at him. Standing with his legs spread apart, the android held both of his arms out in front of him, a black and white ball of energy with red electricity dancing on it and a black aura around it forming in front of them.

"Here, girl; let me introduce you to my Electric Hellsphere," Angie said, an insane look on his face. "It'll be the last introduction you'll ever have!"

Videl immediately went into panic mode. She needed to get out of the way of that…thing before it blew her into more pieces than a jigsaw puzzle.

And that didn't sit well with her long term plans.

Looking towards Gohan, the girl felt her heart sank as the saiyan appeared dazed; having much trouble trying to get up. There was no way any help was coming from that avenue.

Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, Videl began trying to get onto her feet only to fall back to the ground as she cried out in pain. Great, not only was her shoulder injured, but apparently she had hurt her left leg as well. Turning it slightly, the Satan girl could feel dread welling up insider her as she saw a jagged piece of stone in her leg. How she hadn't recognized the injury until then was a mystery to her. Reaching for it, she screamed in pain as she tore it out. Unfortunately, that was all the time she had to struggle for her life.

"I hope you're ready to die, girl!" Angie shouted, sounding completely mad. "Cause here it comes!" And with that, the dark ball of energy was fired at Videl.

Two screams sounded off soon after.

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: Lmao wow, I hadn't thought about that. Trunks must've made a quick visit to the Ranma Universe for some training during the time between updates. Good catch.


	25. Kiss The Flag

No matter what he did, Gohan couldn't get back on his feet. That hit to the back of his head must've thrown off his sense of balance or something as he struggled to get up right. Unfortunately, this was a bad time for that to be happening as Angie had a very powerful attack ready. His target: Videl.

Managing to get on all fours, the saiyan faced the scene, a grim determination on him. He needed to time his next action right; otherwise both he and the Satan girl would be crispy carcasses.

Originally, the Son boy had hoped Videl could've gotten up and avoid their opponent's attack. Unfortunately, the dark headed girl had struggled to get up, finding out that she had a nice hunk of stone digging right into her leg. At the rate Angie was powering up his attack, there was no way she could've pulled the stone out and get out of the way; or just plain get out of the way for that matter. On top of that, the saiyan himself was having problems orienting his body.

Not a good combination of factors if you asked him.

"I hope you're ready to die, girl!" Angie shouted, his voice sounding completely mad. "Cause here it comes!"

It was at that moment Gohan was wobbly back on his feet with a plan in hand. Bending his knees, he pushed off the ground, racing towards Videl as Angie's Electric Hellsphere was fired.

Hopefully he could get there in time.

* * *

All color seemed to have vanished for the Satan girl. All she could see was the black and white of the powerful energy ball as it closed in on her. There was no way she could dodge it at the last second, the wound in her leg made sure of that. Regrettably, she was pretty sure that she wasn't strong enough to take such an attack head on or even defend against it. Videl was sad to say that this was her last moments alive.

And then something swooped in and stood a little ways in front of her. From what Videl could make of it, it was Gohan, his legs spread apart and his arms extended at shoulder height. It took less than a second for her to realize what exactly her lover was doing. That was when she screamed.

And a second later, Angie's attacked rammed right into Gohan, causing him to scream at the top of his lungs.

An eternity passed as Videl watched the Son boy holding firm; his cry of pain echoing throughout her head; his last stand being burned into her memory. Vaguely, she could see small bits and pieces of the saiyan's armor breaking off and flying up into the air before they were incinerated.

A moment later, everything went blinding white as smoke rushed all over the room. Minutes drug on until the whiteness died down, leaving only the dark clouds of smoke in its place. Eventually, the cloud dispersed, showing Videl and a still standing Gohan, albeit shaking with heavy breathing and in a more crouched stance.

Keeping her eyes firmly on Gohan's back, the Satan girl completely missed the wide eyed expression of Angie. He had completely thought his Electric Hellsphere would obliterate anything it came in contact with; yet there was his saiyan nemesis, still standing. There was no way he should even be in one piece!

And then, Gohan arms fell to his sides as his head tilted backwards. Soon, his whole body fell to the ground, his golden locks turning coal black before he landed on his back.

Instantly, Videl was at his side, despite the pain shooting through her leg. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she saw the saiyan's battered body. Only the left side of his armor managed to stay in one piece. The right side though, was completely gone except at the portion covering the lower abs. Even the armor strap was gone. On top of that, various parts of his spandex pants were torn; the right knee being exposed and the entire leg from the knee down on his left.

His body, the parts showing anyways, was also in bad shape. Cuts dotted the saiyan's arms and exposed chest; blood seeping out of them and trickling to the ground.

"Gohan…please…wake up…" Videl pleaded as her hands shook the Son boy's chest. She needed some kind of reaction from him, anything that would tell her he was still alive; anything that would reassure her he would make it through this beating.

Looking at his face, his eyes shut closed, she heard a hoarse cough escape his lips. Relief welled up inside her as she saw the warrior open one of his eyes, though only about halfway. "You...okay...?" he spoke softly.

Videl couldn't help the half gasp, half sob that escaped her lips. "You dummy. Why'd you have to do that? Look at yourself."

The saiyan chuckled. "Yeah…I've seen…better days…"

Wiping her face dry from her tears, the Satan girl smiled down at the boy. "Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up in no time. You'll be back to kicking bad guy butt in no time."

"Sounds…great…"

She couldn't help herself. Without restraint, Videl smashed her lips onto Gohan's, kissing him with all her might. Though he responded weakly, she took it as a sign that he'd get through this, just like he did from his coma.

And just as she rose her head, she felt another presence right by her. Looking up, the Satan girl found Goten kneeling on the opposite side of Gohan, looking down at his brother in look of dread on his face. "Gohan…what happened to you?"

"That…bad, huh?" Gohan spoke softly, yet humorously.

The younger Son attempted a smile. "Yeah, you look like a wreck."

Another chuckle came from the warrior. "Come closer…"

Leaning his head closer to his brother, he was a bit surprised when he felt the older Son's hand on the back of his head, pulling him even closer to him. Oddly enough, Goten found himself looking at his brother's neck, slightly confused by this.

It was then he felt Gohan press his lips against his forehead; releasing his hold on the younger saiyan's head. "You've…made me proud…Squirt…"

A brief laugh left Goten's mouth. That had been Gohan's nickname for him when he was much younger; back when their father and Vegeta were alive. He had stopped using it shortly after their death when he began training him and Trunks. Though it slipped out every once in awhile, it had been quite awhile since the last time he had been called that.

A small, content smile crawled onto the older saiyan's face as he looked up her brother and Videl. Finally, his half-opened eye shut; his chest lowering with his exhaling breath.

And then he was gone.

Seconds passed by before Videl collapsed on the Son boy's body, sobbing loudly as she gripped onto his lifeless shell. Goten could feel his insides go numb. Grief was growing within him as his sorrow threatened to burst out.

"Well that was touching. I almost needed a tissue for that one."

Goten's head jerked up to see Angie, the android standing with his arms crossed over his chest and smirking. The younger Son's sorrow quickly became as rage as he looked dead-on at his brother's killer.

Slowly standing up, Goten began making slow, measured steps towards the man. "You…" he growled, "you did this. You took my brother away from me."

Angie's smirk grew wider. "That's right, boy. What are you gonna do about it?"

The warrior's body subtly began shaking as he stopped his walking. "You'll pay…I'll make you pay…" Then with a loud cry, he shouted "I'll make you pay for everything!!"

That was when something snapped within the young boy. A burst of aura surrounded his body, causing his hair to stand straight up as his power level skyrocketed. As quickly as that aura appeared, a golden one soon envelope him, bleaching his black hair gold. His dark eyes soon followed as they changed into solid teal.

With his eyes settled firmly on his robotic foe, the young Super Saiyan said coldly, "I'm going to tear you apart…and blast you into oblivion."

Dropping his arms to his sides, Angie replied "By all means, try your best."

With a war cry, Goten charged at the android. Before he got to him, however, the Super Saiyan used a burst of speed to disappear from sight, surprising Angie. That left the man wide open as the golden saiyan's fist imbedded itself into his stomach, Goten reappearing before him shortly after.

Before the android could do anything, Goten began throwing punch after punch into his unguarded midsection, each blow landing with the force of a fright train ramming into him. Then with one final punch, Goten rose into the air and slammed the blow into Angie's face, sending him flying away.

However, the android didn't go too far as he threw his arms out to his sides, stopping his flight. Bringing one of his arms out in front of himself, Angie charged up his energy and fired an energy blast.

Reacting, Goten straightened the fingers of one of his hands, the thumb curled into the palm. With a swing of his arm, he slapped the blast away; the attack flying into a wall and exploding shortly after.

"You much stronger than I had anticipated," Angie admitted, slowly dropping from his stance. "From here on out though, you won't find this fight that easy."

In response, all he got was Goten staring coldly. A moment later, he disappeared from sight.

Smirking, the android dropped down to the ground, crouching. It was just in time too as Goten reappeared, swinging a kick that hit nothing but air.

Lashing his arm out, Angie grabbed a hold of the saiyan's leg and leapt up and forward from his crouched position, dragging Goten behind him. Pulling his arm down, the android swung the Super Saiyan through the air and slammed him into the ground.

When the young Son didn't move, Angie began to gather his energy for another energy blast. It was then his opponent struck, firing a ki blast that exploded on his face; causing him to release his hold on both the saiyan's leg and his energy as he moved his hands to his face.

The next thing the android knew, Goten slammed his elbow into his gut, causing him to lose his breath. Once again, the saiyan leapt into the air and with his other arm, he threw another hard punch that landed on the android's face, sending him flying backwards. This time, however, he crashed to the ground and skidded a ways before coming to a complete stop.

Landing back on his feet, Goten stared at the motionless body of Angie, waiting for him to get back on his feet. After awhile, it became apparent that the fighter wouldn't be, prompting the saiyan to approach his body, coming to a stop by his legs.

It was then that Angie attacked. Within a second, the android's upper body snapped up as his hands shot out and grabbed the Super Saiyan's forearms. A sinister grin crawled over the man's face as he completed his successful move.

"This fight's over," Angie declared. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm draining your body of its energy. It's only a matter of time before I've sucked you dry."

Oddly enough, Goten didn't look perturbed by this; the same cold expression on his face as before. It wasn't long before he answered though. "We'll see about that."

That was when the saiyan's arms twisted in the android's grip, grabbing onto the artificial human's own arms. Leaping off of the ground, Goten thrust his legs out, his feet ramming into Angie's face; one foot on each of his cheeks. Straightening out his body, the saiyan was crotched in midair, his legs bent at the knee. "Tell me something, android. How long do you think you can hang on before your arms tear off your body?"

Grunting sounds began to escape Angie's mouth as the golden saiyan began to straighten out his legs. "I'll…_never_…let go…you…filthy monkey…" he managed to say through puckered lips.

"Then it's a matter of what happens first," Goten carried on. "Either you'll hang on long enough to drain me completely or I'll pull your arms out of their sockets. I know which one you're hoping for; and you most likely know which one I'm betting on."

Their stalemate carried on like this for awhile; Goten slowly extending his legs more and more while Angie maintained his grip on the saiyan. Neither one was willing to give up on their struggle as defeat meant certain death for the loser.

Suddenly, Goten let out a loud cry as he completely straightened his legs. A second later, a loud ripping sounds could be hear, followed by a loud shriek of pain from Angie as his forearms were torn off at the elbow.

Removing his feet from the newly handicapped android, the young saiyan landed on the ground standing. Turning his attention to the hands that were still gripping his own arms, the warrior moved to removed them, pulling them off easily and dropping them to the floor.

Returning his attention to Angie as he writhed on the ground, still screaming over his wounded arms, Goten said two words to him.

"You lose."

Those words seemed to snap Angie back into the world around him as rage filled his eyes. "I haven't lost yet!" he shouted back. "This fight isn't over!"

Then with the remaining strength in his body, the android flung his upper body up; only to be greeted with the toe of Goten's foot as he nailed a kick to the man's chin; his head snapping back, followed by the rest of his body as he slammed back into the ground, stunned.

"Well, you were right about one thing," Goten admitted. "This fight isn't over yet." Holding his right arm out, the saiyan gathered his ki and focused it into his hand. Soon, a bright, blue ball of ki swirled around his hand.

"You see this?" he chastised. "This is for everything you and your kind have taken from me; my home; my family;…my brother…" the last part being said with animosity. "And now I'll end your life with this attack of mine; one that's been passed down my family for generations."

Fear was clearly present in Angie's eyes as he looked up at the face of death. What frightened him more though, was the larger image behind the Super Saiyan; the image of a Super Saiyan Gohan in the same pose as his brother, just waiting to throw that deadly ball of ki.

Pulling his arm back, the image behind him copying his movement, Goten shouted "Final Spirit Cannon!" and threw the attack, just as Angie began to scream. The swirling ki ball nailed the android in the chest and exploded, swallowing the man alive in blue flames.

The whole room shook from the tremor the explosion produced but eventually, it died down as did the blast. The only thing left of Angie or his final resting place was a large whole in the floor, darkness being the only noticeable thing within it.

Standing at its edge, Goten just stared into it. His mind was completely blank, just the way he wanted it before he had to deal with reality once more. Eventually, the young Son turned around, allowing his blond locks and teal eyes to fade back into their more natural black.

Looking, the saiyan's eyes well upon his brother's body once more, Videl still lying on top of his body whimpering. Apparently the Satan girl had been oblivious to the battle that raged around her. All she cared about was her grief, something Goten didn't hold against her. She seemed to have gotten over the initial outbreak of her emotions though.

Slowly, Goten knelt down on the ground before laying on his side against it. Soft sobs began to emanate from his prone body as the boy finally let his sorrow get the better of him.


	26. Breathe

Seems like I caught a lot of people by surprised with Gohan's death last chapter. There's still a little more ground to cover but this fic is standing on it's last couple of legs. Hope you all keep enjoying the story!

* * *

Trunks stared down at the recently dug up sand. Beneath its surface laid the body of Gohan, a man he considered his brother, not only in battle, but as family. It was almost hard to believe the saiyan he had considered unbeatable was know six feet under.

He had been racing through the corridors of the maze when he had felt it. The oddly colored saiyan had known the oldest Son was in the middle of battle, but he hadn't put much worry into it. If there was anyone who could take care of their self, it was Gohan.

Unfortunately, that thought had been proven wrong. One moment his ki signal was as strong as ever, the next it had dropped almost out of existence. It hung on for awhile but eventually disappeared completely. At that moment, Trunks had felt a feeling of dread as thick as a brick in his gut. He had hoped it has been a mistake, that he had felt something else. When Goten's power suddenly skyrocketed, the saiyan prince knew that his initial feeling was right.

By the time he had arrived at the chamber that held the relic key, the fireworks had died down. Lying on the floor was Gohan's body with Videl slumped on top of it, still shaking from her crying fit. Not too far away was a hole in the floor with Goten near, curled up as he wept. Trunks didn't take long to follow their example as he fell to his knees and let grief take over him.

Tien had been the last to arrive, looking a little worse for wear. The moment his eyes had fallen onto the scene, the bodyguard paled before bowing his head. Once a few minutes went by, the fighter had to take the unwanted responsibility of getting everyone moving again.

Surprisingly, there had been little resistance once the bald human had moved Videl off of the dead saiyan body and picked it up. He then navigated the labyrinth back to the entrance, where he set Gohan's body down and then preceded to dig a grave for him.

Once Tien had removed the body, the two saiyans and Videl took their time in composing themselves before finally getting back to their feet. Fortunately, Trunks had still been at the doorway; had he not, he would've completely forgotten about retrieving the Time Milieu key.

Their sorrow, however, had promptly returned once they had arrived at the entrance. Tien had just about finished digging the grave when they arrived; Erasa standing next to Gohan as she watched the bodyguard. When she had left the ship, none of them except the blonde knew, but that didn't really matter at the moment.

After placing the body of their comrade in the hole, Goten and Trunks had relieved Tien of his work and filled the grave up with the sand. It was here where Trunks was wallowing in his thoughts.

Everything they had fought for, were fighting for seemed to be at a standstill. Sixteen had been right when he said that Gohan was the last person they could lose. He was the one that had put Frieza in his place on Namek, the one that could do it again and save their home world from destruction. With him gone now, there wasn't any point to continuing their quest. None of them possessed the power to take Frieza on, especially one that had been modified. Maybe between himself, Goten, and Tien, they could win but that didn't mean their fight would be over. There was someone else that was more powerful than the tyrant, King Cold by name, and he would finish the three of them off, no sweat.

"So what now?" the oddly colored saiyan spoke after awhile. "With Gohan gone, there's not much of a chance of restoring our home planet."

No one responded, at least immediately. "We pretty much need someone with the power of a Super Saiyan, right?" Goten questioned.

"At the minimum," Trunks replied.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that."

That startled the saiyan. "What do you mean not worry? Gohan was the only one that could transform. With him gone, we don't have a Super Saiyan!"

Goten just looked at his brother's grave. "Yes we do. I've become one."

To say the other humans were shocked was an understatement. Correction, Erasa and Tien were shocked. Videl had been in the same room when that event had happened.

Trunks stared at his best friend. "You mean…you're a Super Saiyan?"

The Son boy nodded his head. "That's right. Though I'm not as strong as Gohan was, I should be able to take on Frieza before he was restored. I'm not sure how strong he was when he reached Vegeta, but I should be able to damage him."

That made the saiyan prince thoughtful. "Maybe you could teach me how to become one too. That way we have two Super Saiyans when we fight Frieza."

For the first time during that conversation, Goten looked away from the grave and faced Trunks, shaking his head. "It takes a lot more than just power, Trunks."

The oddly colored saiyan frowned. "That's what Gohan said when we asked him the same thing."

The Son boy nodded. "And do you remember what else he had said?"

Trunks had to frown about that. Long before this, he and Goten had cornered Gohan shortly after the incident with Garlic Jr., wanting to know how they could become Super Saiyans. The way the conversation went wasn't what they had expected to get.

* * *

"So you two want to become Super Saiyans?" Gohan questioned amusedly as he stared at the younger saiyans.

"Yeah," Goten answered. "What you did to that Garlic guy was awesome! You're probably the strongest guy in the universe now. If Trunks and I were to become Super Saiyans too, the three of us would be unstoppable!"

"Plus we're stronger than you are when you first transformed," Trunks added. "It shouldn't take very long for us to reach the level."

Any amusement that was on the elder saiyan's face disappeared. "No."

That confused the two saiyans. "No? What do you mean no?" Goten asked, puzzled.

A serious expression covered Gohan's face. "It takes more than just power to become a Super Saiyan. There's another element that's needed…a dire one."

"And what is it?" Trunks pressed.

The Son boy shook his head. "I won't tell you. The less you know about it, the better. To be quite honest, Super Saiyan is the last thing you'd ever want to become."

What was with all of this misleading stuff? Wasn't the two younger saiyans becoming Super Saiyans a great idea? No one would be able to touch them if they gained that level! But for some reason, Gohan didn't want them to gain that level.

"I know you want to become strong," Gohan continued. "But Super Saiyan is not the way to go, not for you two."

Anger was visibly showing on Trunks and Goten's faces. "You're not making any sense," Trunks stated. "Why don't you want us to become Super Saiyans?"

A solemn look over came the older saiyan. "Trust me, if you two ever became Super Saiyans, you'll know what I speak of."

* * *

And those had been the last words Gohan had ever spoken to them about the transformation. Now though, Goten seemed to know exactly what his brother had been talking about all those months ago.

"To become a Super Saiyan," the younger Son started, "is to suffer through extreme, emotional stress."

"Emotional stress?" Trunks questioned. "Explain."

Goten sighed. "By that I mean you have to go through a period where your emotions are chaotic and intense. About the only time that happens in any person's life is when they see a loved one die."

Trunks could feel his blood freezing in his veins, a sinking feeling growing in his stomach. Was that what Gohan had meant?

Seeing the shocked look of realization on his friend's face, Goten continued. "For Gohan, it was seeing our fathers killed in combat. And for me…" the Son boy took a deep breath. "For me, it was seeing my brother die in my arms."

That just couldn't be it, it just couldn't be! Trunks couldn't accept that statement; no way. Someone close to you had to die for you to reach that legendary level? That just couldn't be!

"But what about Broly?" the oddly colored saiyan countered. "He reached that level and more without having to see people die."

Goten shook his head. "Oh yes he did. Broly was on Vegeta when Frieza attacked it, remember? Seeing Frieza slaughter our people was what drove him off the deep end."

Trunks was beaten, he knew it. Everything his friend told him was right, everything. Even if he wanted the level of legend, he would've had to see someone he was close to die. At the current moment, the only person he could possibly achieve that level was seeing Goten die.

And that was too steep of a price for him.

Bowing his head, the saiyan finally said "So what do we do now? All our plans hinged on Gohan beating Frieza, but now he's gone."

"Well," Goten began. "I'm not as strong as Gohan, but I do have the Super Saiyan powers he possessed. I could take his place, but…" he paused. "I can't stand not having my brother here. It would be too hollow of a victory without him."

"I know what you mean," Videl agreed, speaking softly.

A silence hovered over the group; that was until Tien came up with an idea. "Perhaps…perhaps we could use the Time Milieu to bring Gohan back?" he suggested hesitantly.

Everyone jerked their attention to the former bodyguard. "How?" Goten questioned. "How can we use that machine to bring my brother back?"

"We just go back in time and stop his death," the bald human explained. "We could even go back far enough to save Sixteen too if we wanted."

A new light glowed from the group's eyes. Jerking his head to the younger Son, Trunks said "When do you think everything started going bad for us?"

Goten went into thought, his face showing him thinking hopefully. "It had to have been when Gohan was sent to Earth after we beat Wheelo. If we go to the point right before Gohan's sent on that rocket, we could stop both of their deaths!"

"We have to do this!" Videl announced, clearly excited. "We can make everything right again!"

"I see we have your vote," Goten joked, causing the girl to hit him on his shoulder. "So that's one vote for doing this; how about the rest of you?"

"I'm in," Trunks said.

"Me too," Tien added.

"And you Erasa?" Goten said as he turned to the blonde, surprising her a bit. "What's your vote?"

"I say we go for it," she said, smiling at the boy.

"Then we have a unanimous vote," Goten said, smirking. "You do realize this is the first time we've ever had one of these?"

That was when the group fell silent, looking at each other edgily. "Okay, this is weird," Videl admitted.

"No kidding," the younger Son said.

"If you want, I could vote against it," Trunks replied, smirking. "I'm sure we could get back to our usual disagreeing then."

"Trunks, if you dare say we shouldn't bring my brother back, I'll kick your ass all the way back to where Vegeta once stood."

"Oh, now that you've become a Super Saiyan, you think you're all high and mighty huh? Well I got news for you Blondie; you still can't beat me, even in your dreams," Trunks retorted.

"The day you beat me in my dreams is the day I start having nightmares," Goten shot back.

"Well, it's a little late for that. You still wetting the bed sheets at night?"

It became deathly quiet in the room. "Trunks, if you dare say anymore, you will die," the younger saiyan said with a deadly tone.

Trunks smirked. "Hey, it's not my fault you couldn't hold your liquids while you sleep."

"DIE YOU SON OF A—"

In the meantime, the three remaining humans watched the spectacle of Goten chasing Trunks, trying to blast him into oblivion as they ran around the room. "Some things never change," Tien said after awhile.

"I'm starting to see what you meant now," Videl said aloud, catching both Tien and Erasa by surprise.

"What do you mean?" Erasa asked.

"When Tien said that Gohan wanted those two to act like that. It was so they could overcome moments like these, the Satan girl explained, a few tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

The blonde girl wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders, feeling the girl lean into her. "Don't worry Videl, we'll get him back."

* * *

To dragongirl: Here's your request! Though it came later than I wanted. Hope you enjoyed it!

To Sigfried Wild: Well, as the chapter explained, our hybrid group has a new plan. We'll see if they succeed or not.


	27. Do It For Me Now

A while ago, a couple of reviewers brought up a couple of suggestions for this story. These suggestions caught my interest and I've been waiting for the right moment to use them. In case you haven't guessed, that moment is now. This chapter goes out to King of Konoha and jcogginsa; for your inspirations.

* * *

Erasa was what one would call a meek woman. She wasn't someone who demanded answers like Videl, or told people what she thought of them like Goten, or even made a controversial comment like Tien was apt to do on occasion. However, something had been bugging her for the longest time and at the current moment, there wasn't much of anything going on that it would be considered impolite.

"Hey Trunks?" the blonde asked, "Why do you look the way you do?"

The saiyan in questioned just looked at the girl like she had grown a second head. "Umm, my mommy and daddy met one day and had sex. That usually how babies are made," he said sarcastically.

Erasa shook her head, not allowing his words get to her. "I meant why you had purple hair. Every other saiyan I know has black, spiky hair; but you don't. Why is that?"

"You know, I'd like to know that too," Tien piped up. At the current moment, the bald human, Trunks, and Erasa were sitting in the control room sans Goten and Videl. Both fighters had taken to their rooms and hadn't left them ever since. The other three assumed they were just dealing with their more personal grief over their fallen comrade.

Trunks blew air out of his mouth as he leaned back into his chair, causing him to look up at the roof. "So that's what you meant," he started. "Well, I suppose you can call me an anomaly."

"Anomaly meaning?" Tien pressed.

"Let's see how to put this. It's like a certain gene in my sequence is different from the typical saiyan. From what I understand, it would be like the gene that creates what you humans call albinos."

Tien frowned. "Albinos? But you don't look like one at all."

Trunks rolled his eyes. "Well, I am saiyan after all. Your definition of one is completely different from ours. The concepts are the same though: unusually color of eyes, different hair colors, skin complexions, and so on."

This time it was Erasa's turn to frown. "I think I can understand the eyes and hair thing but your skin doesn't look paler than Goten's."

"Well, if you humans hadn't knocked down our old society, I would've been. People like myself are very rare and tend to be locked away from the general public. However, since I was in line to become king, I could've changed that. But in the end, I still was allowed to roam around since no one really cared about a saiyan with different coloring."

"I guess I can understand," Erasa relied.

"That's for sure. When ever I had to go into that one human village, no one recognized me as a saiyan. It had its uses, I suppose," the oddly colored saiyan mused.

The blonde girl lit up at that. "That's right! I saw you at East Fort. You disappeared before I could talk to you."

Trunks looked at the girl. "You were there? Huh, so it was a small world after all."

Erasa giggled. "Silly, of course I was there. That's where Gohan and Videl first met."

"Is that so?" Tien said. "And I guess something happened between the two that pissed Videl off enough to chase him halfway across the universe with you and I in tow. What did Gohan do to make her that mad anyways?"

That caused the blonde to huff as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "He just left her! Can you believe that? After everything they had gone through and he just up and left."

"And what had they gone through?" Tien asked.

"Well, from what Videl told me, they had infiltrated the mayor's mansion and were caught. Gohan saved them from getting killed and instead of helping Videl sort things out, he just left her all by herself."

"Umm, you do realize that he had more important things to do, right?" Trunks responded.

"And what could be more important than a girl's feelings?"

"Umm…saving the future of his own race?"

"Right, a likely story."

Trunks stared at the girl for a few seconds before shaking his head. Apparently Erasa had a different set of priorities than the rest of the people around.

* * *

Videl stared out into the vastness of space. Currently the girl was sitting in the pilot's seat, making sure their ship kept its current course.

It had been awhile since she had left her room, but after dealing with her grief, she found no reason to stay locked up. Everyone else, including Erasa, was handling the mission better than her and she would be damned if it stayed that way much longer. So once she arrived in the control room, she had announced she would be taking over the ship's travel. Neither Tien or Trunks rose an objection and allowed the Satan girl to do as she wished.

Unfortunately, the two warriors along with her blonde friend had left the room some time after her announcement and had retreated to their own rooms for rest, leaving the girl to her thoughts that continued to hover over Gohan. So many different scenarios were running through her head; things she could've done differently that would've allowed the saiyan to still be alive.

And it was because of this that Videl never took noticed of the five relic keys that had been placed at the back of the room. Gradually, a soft, golden glow began to emanate from them.

* * *

Goten couldn't help but blink his eyes. One moment he had fallen dead asleep on his bed; the next he was in a city that was teeming with activity.

What in the world was going on?

Looking around, the saiyan couldn't help but notice the people roaming about him were humans. Each one moved with some sort of purpose that they hardly gave him much attention aside from a curious glance every once in awhile.

"Goten?"

The Son boy jerked his head to aside, seeing Trunks staring at him with disbelieving eyes.

"Trunks? What are you doing here?" Goten asked. "I thought I was just in some weird dream."

The oddly colored saiyan approached his comrade, nodding his head in agreement. "So did I. Apparently we're sharing the same dream somehow."

Turning his head to look in front of him, Goten was surprised to see another person in his shared dream; seeing a startled Tien across the street from them, looking at the scene before him with wide eyes.

"Hey Tien!" Goten called out, waving his hand over his head, attracting the attention of the former bodyguard.

"What are you guys doing here!" Tien shouted back.

"That's what we wanted to know!" was the saiyan's response.

Before they could continue they're conversation, there was a loud cry of excitement from the passing humans. Looking at them, the saiyans and Tien immediately noticed the humans looking up into the sky. Turning their attention in the same direction, the three warriors saw a figure descending to the ground, landing in the middle of the street.

For what ever reason that escaped the fighters, this mysterious man had chosen to dress himself in the most ridiculous garb ever. Black spandex covered his body with a green gi top cover his torso and white gloves and boots on his hands and feet. A red cape flapped around behind the man along with an orange helmet with two antennas sticking out of it.

If Goten, Trunks, and Tien thought the way he was dressed was weird, what he did next completely made them rethink their concepts of weirdness. Dropping to a knelled position, his arms pointing to the ground, the man shouted "When evil is afoot, justice is close by to stop it…" at this he stood up from the grand, balancing on one foot. Sticking one of his hands up, he balled it into a fist as he held it proudly over his head. "For I am the Great…" at this point he fell into a crouched position with his arms curling towards his head, his hands pointing right at his helmet. "Saiyaman!" he finished.

Sweatdrops fell down the warriors' heads.

"Is…is this guy suppose to be serious?" Trunks asked out loud.

"You got me," Goten responded.

However, the Saiyaman character overheard the oddly colored saiyan's comment and addressed him. "Of course I'm serious," he said in a deepened voice. "I am, after all, a hero."

"A hero?" the saiyan prince questioned as he glanced to his black haired comrade. "Do you think that helmet of his is a size too small for his head? It could be cutting the blood flow to his brain."

"There is no need for insults, sir," the man replied.

Goten turned his attention to the self-proclaimed "hero." "Hey buddy, he wasn't talking to you."

"Please lower the volume on your voice, sir. There are people around."

The young Son boy didn't know what it was about this guy, but he was starting to piss him off. Marching towards the man, the saiyan said "I don't know who you are or who you think you are, but you are really getting on my bad side, bub. And when I someone tics me off, I tend to beat the crap out of them."

"Please refrain from any violence, sir—"

"Refrain this!" Goten shouted as he threw a punch at the hero. However, he was shocked when the man easily rose a hand up and caught his blow, seemingly unfazed by it. "I'll repeat myself," Saiyaman said, his deep voice vanishing within a more serious tone, "refrain from any violence."

Growling, Goten jerked his captured fist away; Saiyaman releasing his grip as the saiyan moved. "I've had all that I can stand of you!" the Son boy shouted as he leapt into the air and swung a kick at the hero's head.

Once again, Saiyaman surprised the warrior by blocking the blow easily with a high block. "I warned you, sir," the man said coolly. "Now I have no choice but to defend myself." And with that said, the hero raised his other hand and held it right in front of the saiyan. The next thing Goten knew, a shockwave of ki blew him away, sending him careening through the air.

"Goten!" Trunks shouted as he rushed to the saiyan's flight path. With open arms, the warrior caught his stunned comrade.

Before the two of them could do anything else though, they both saw Tien sneaking up on the Saiyaman character. At the last second, the former bodyguard lunged at the masked man, throwing a punch at the back of his head.

Reacting, Saiyaman leaned to a side, dodging the blow. Moving his arms then, he grabbed Tien's wrist with one of his hands, gripping the bald human's bicep with the other. Then using the fighter's own momentum, he pulled Tien over his shoulder and threw him at the two saiyans.

With wide eyes, Trunks and Goten were thrown off their feet as Tien crashed into them. It was almost comical the way the three of them laid on the ground as a ball of tangled arms and legs.

"So there were three of you," Saiyaman said, his deep voice returning. "My advice to you three would be to leave town before you cause anymore pain to yourselves."

That was the last straw for Goten. He couldn't take anymore of this overly-righteous hero. Forcing his way out of the dog pile, the saiyan leapt a short distance away from his comrades, his rage clearly evident on his face. "I've had all I can stand of you!" the Son boy shouted as a golden aura enveloped him. A second later, the blond hair and teal eyes of his Super Saiyan form settled on him.

The next moment, Goten had rushed in on Saiyaman, imbedding his fist in his opponent's stomach. As the hero lost his breath and bent down slightly, Goten unleashed a barrage of vicious blows into the costumed man's gut, finishing the onslaught with a powerful punch into Saiyaman's chest. In response, the hero flew backwards, but only for a short distance as he managed to get his feet back on the ground, skidding to a halt.

Holding his torso gingerly, the hero said "So violence is the only way to get through to you. So be it."

That was when a golden aura appeared around the fighter, much to the astonishment of Trunks and Tien. The only time they had ever seen a golden aura was around a Super Saiyan, yet this guy could make one of his own as well. What was going on?

To Goten, however, he didn't care what the hero had done. He only had a one-track mind at the moment; and it was saying to beat the living daylights out of the costumed buffoon. With a war cry, the golden saiyan launched himself at his glowing opponent who rushed at him as well.

Both fighters collided at the edge of the street, each fighter throwing lightning fast punches; dodging, blocking, or parrying the blows their opponent sent at them. Their movements were so fast, the two appeared to be nothing but golden blurs, even to the trained eyes of Trunks and Tien.

The stalemate didn't last too long though as Saiyaman overreached with an attack, allowing Goten to take advantage as he leapt into the air and swung a roundhouse kick; the blow causing the hero to snap his head back and sent his helmet flying off of his head. Instead of continuing his attack though, Goten landed back on the ground, waiting to gloat about seeing the man's face.

It was at that point that time seemed to have slowed down. Slowly, Saiyaman moved his head back to look at Goten, causing the saiyan's heart to skip a beat. Although he had blond hair and teal eyes, the face of Gohan looked at him emotionless.

A moment later, Gohan was in his brother's face, slamming his fist into it and sending the Son boy flying into a building.

Gohan/Saiyaman immediately straightened up his posture, looking as if he had been caught stealing the cookie from the cookie jar. Moving an arm up, he began scratching the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed by his display of force. "Whoops, looks like I got carried away there for a second," he said lightheartedly, causing Trunks and Tien to look at the boy strangely. This guy may have looked like Gohan, but he sure didn't act like him. In fact, it was a bit creepy seeing him act carefree.

It wasn't long until Goten reappeared, his familiar black locks back in place as he stared wide eyed at his brother. "Gohan, is that really you?"

Gohan blinked his eyes, perplexed. "Umm, I'm sorry but do I know you?"

"Yeah, it's me, Goten."

"Goten? Hey, I have a little brother with that name," the Son boy exclaimed. "He's about this high," he indicated by lowering his hand to about his thigh. "He's gonna be surprised to find out someone else has his name."

"Goten!" Trunks shouted. "This isn't your brother! There's something completely wrong with this place; with him."

"What do you mean?" the saiyan responded, looking at his friend.

"He acts too differently from the Gohan we know," the oddly colored saiyan explained. "Just look at him. Your brother wouldn't be caught dead wearing that get-up."

"Hey!" the disguised saiyan protested. "This is a cool disguise!"

"Nobody asked you!" Trunks replied.

To Goten though, that explanation seemed to take the life out of the warrior as his shoulders sagged. Then…this whole thing wasn't real?

Turning his attention back to the confused saiyan, the man called Saiyaman said "I'm sorry you've confused me with someone else. But I think I know how I can help you out."

"You do?" Goten replied, looking at the hero.

"Yeah," he said. That was when his voice changed from the brother he knew to that of a girl's. "Just wake up."

* * *

Goten's eyes flew open as he flung his body up from his bed, sitting up as he panted.

What had happened back there? One moment he was in a strange place, then his brother disguised as a hero showed up and told him to wake up. The saiyan could say with confidence that he had weird dreams before, but this one really took the cake.

"Goten, I'm glad you're awake!" a female voice said, similar to the one he head heard leave his brother's mouth. Turning his head, he found Erasa sitting on the edge of the bed, a look of relief on her face.

"Erasa, why did you wake me up?" Goten asked, a bit confused by the interruption of his sleep.

"Videl found something you should see," the blonde answered, sounding urgent.

Goten cocked an eyebrow. "Is that it?"

"Goten, trust me. You need to see this."


	28. A Cross And A Girl Named Blessed

It was the most bizarre thing Goten had ever seen, and that was saying a lot. Sticking out from a planet, a large tree grew. Now by large, the Son boy really meant enormous. From the ship's position in space, the tree looked like an unusual growth similar to the Big Gete Star.

"Well, I never knew trees could grow that big," the saiyan said, breaking the silence in the control room.

"No kidding. Do the people on that planet not know how to cut those things down?" Trunks added.

However, despite their banter, no one could've missed all the brown that surrounded the tree. It looked as if a wasteland had developed around the tree, which was odd since trees normally didn't thrive in wastelands. The rest of the planet though, had a more greenish tint to it on the side opposite the tree.

"Tien, can you tell me what planet that is?" Goten said as he studied the peculiar world.

"No problem," the human said as he went through the ship's database. A few moments later, the bodyguard paled. "That can't be right," he murmured out loud.

"What is it?" Trunks spoke up.

"Well according to the computer, that planet is Namek."

Both saiyans jerked their heads to Tien. "Namek? But there was hardly a tree there when we last visited."

The bodyguard nodded his head. "That was my thought too."

The saiyan warriors turned their attention back to Namek, staring at it. "Well, I think it's safe to say that something wrong is happening down there," Goten said. "I think we need to go lend a hand."

"Got that right," his saiyan compatriot agreed.

Videl cocked her eyebrow at that. "Wait a second; Trunks agreeing to go help people? I think we've found the eighth wonder of the universe."

Trunks scowled. "Ha, ha, ha, very funny."

* * *

Unfortunately, the view from space was a lot better than the one on the planet.

Moments after landing their ship, the groups of saiyans and humans discovered that Namek was in worse condition than previously thought. Instead of the typical islands dotting a sea of water, they found plateaus all over the place and no drop of water to speak of. In fact, wide canyons were in place of where the water used to be.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Tien spoke.

"No kidding," Videl agreed. Taking a more thorough look around, the Satan girl said "I think it would be best if I stayed with the ship this time. It'd be safer if someone was guarding it."

Goten nodded his agreement. "You do that. Trunks, Tien, let's go."

With the blaze of their auras suddenly appearing around them, the three warriors flew off into the sky, heading in the direction of the oversized tree. The closer they got to it, the more they noticed how alien it was. Gigantic roots extended in all directions; burrowing in and out of the ground at random. How far they actually extended was anyone's guess.

Things changed though, the closer they came to the tree's base. Scattered around were the bodies of many Namekian warriors; each one lifeless as the next. If there was any question if this was really Namek, those bodies confirmed it.

"Well look what we have here," a deep voice rumbled.

The three warriors stopped in midair, their auras dispersing as they hovered above the ground. Looking up, the three noticed a very large root arching high into the air. On top of this root, a large, bulky man sat, staring down at them.

The man wore the standard armor of the Cold Empire; the lone exception being the small spikes sticking out of the shoulder guards. Long hair that was tied into a braid hung from his head as a cross-shaped scar stood out on the left side of his face, where the chin and cheek met.

"Who the hell are you?!" Trunks called out.

The bulky man smirked. "The name's Amond; the man that will kill you."

The three warriors scowled. Who did this guy think he was?

"Looks like you found some fresh meat," an arrogant voice spoke. Appearing next to Amond, two more fighters appeared. One was a humanoid with shaggy dark green hair that went to his shoulder blades; his armor looking as if it hadn't been maintained for quite some time. The other fighter wore no armor, looking more machine than man…or alien. Mostly silver, his face and arms were of a pale red color. If there was anything that made this guy look alien, it was definitely his face.

"Daizu, Kakao," Amond acknowledge. "Hopefully these runts give us a better fight than the Nameks did."

"Got that right," the raggedy fighter agreed, stretching a bit. "I've been bored all day."

Suddenly, twin balls came flying out of nowhere, landing next to the three fighters. Unrolling, the balls became two short, purple aliens. Now that the saiyans and Tien looked at them, they looked exactly like one enough, even down to their cocky smirks.

"You weren't thinking of fighting without us, did you?" one of the purple twins asked.

"Rasin and I would've been very upset if you had," the other one agreed.

"Of course not," Amond replied. "We don't fight without Rasin or Lagasin."

"These guys are starting to annoy me," Goten commented. "Can we kill them now and be done with them?"

"I'm on board with that idea," Tien agreed.

"I'll do the honors," Trunks claimed as he raised an arm up, gathering his ki. A moment later a ki blast fired from his hand, flying at their conversating opponents.

The five fighters caught sight of the ki blast racing towards them a second later. Reacting, they all leapt from the giant tree root, avoiding the explosion the beam created when it detonated on the root.

That was when Goten and Tien struck. Appearing upside down in front of Lagasin, Tien slammed his leg onto the small alien's head, sending him crashing down to the jumble of tree roots below.

In turn, Goten appeared with his elbow imbedded firmly in Daizu's stomach, causing him to bend over the appendage helplessly. However, before the saiyan could deliver another blow to his opponent, Kakao came rushing in, ramming his shoulder into the Son boy's side and sending him flying away.

However, the saiyan warrior stopped his flight soon after, throwing his arms to his sides as he gathered his ki. Then with a war cry, Goten threw his arms out and front of himself and fired a large ki blast.

Reacting, Kakao moved higher into the air as the beam rushed beneath him. Before he could do anything else though, Trunks appeared right in front of him and landed a vicious blow to his face, sending him flying away.

In the meantime, Rasin and Tien had been trading blows with each other; blocking or dodging the punches and kicks that didn't land on them. That stalemate wouldn't last much longer than that though as Lagasin came flying from the ground below, swinging a kick at the bald human's head, blindsiding him. Because of that, Rasin was able to land a few punches in the human's open midsection, keeping Tien stunned by the onslaught of blows.

Going in for a finishing blow, Lagasin threw a powerful punch, connecting with the side of the bodyguard's head and sent him flying away. Fortunately, Tien stopped his flight soon after, glaring furiously at the twin purple aliens.

"If that's the way you want to play it, so be it," Tien declared as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Focusing his ki, the human bodyguard slowly began to divide it into two. Because of this, his body faded a bit, becoming transparent. That was when his see-through form drifted towards his left, leaving a copy of himself in his previous place. A moment later, the forms filled in, revealing two copies of Tien floating before his purple opponents.

"What the hell is that?!" Rasin shouted, not receiving a reply from his twin.

With a war cry, one of the Tien copies rushed towards the two aliens, attracting both of their attentions as they fell into defensive stances. Because of this, they didn't see the other Tien raised one of his hands up, extending his index finger as he gathered his ki once more.

"Dodon Ray!" the human fighter shouted as a thin yellow beam raced towards the charging form of himself. At the speed the beam was going, it quickly closed in on the double.

At the last possible second though, the Tien copy used a burst of speed, disappearing from sight as the Dodon Ray flew right through the space he had previously been. Because of that, both purple aliens were caught off guard, leaving them open for the attack to pierce through Rasin's body.

"Rasin!" Lagasin shouted as he watched his twin's body jerk backwards as his eyes glazed over. Lifeless, the alien's body fell to the root-covered ground below.

At that moment, the Tien copy reappeared, delivering a power kick to the remaining purple alien's head, causing him to drift backwards. In response, the other Tien rose both of his hands to his head, two fingers extended from both hands as they hovered near his third eye. With a charge of his ki, a ki blast was fired from the eye, flying straight for Lagasin and exploding on him.

A thick cloud of smoke and flames covered the alien, though it didn't last long. Lagasin fell out of the cloud soon after, the whites of his eyes showing for all to see. Not taking any chances, the other Tien copy raised both of his hands in front of himself, powering up his ki before firing a large ki blast that detonated on Lagasin's body.

The last either copy saw was the alien's body falling to the ground deceased.

* * *

Fists flew in blurs as Goten and Kakao tried to cause as much damage on each other as possible. Ignoring defense altogether, the two warriors dished out their attacks, miraculously dodging a few blows every once in awhile.

Down on one of the roots, Amond watched the stalemate, growing bored as it progressed. "I know exactly what this fight needs," the large man stated, beginning to grin evilly. Settling into a stance, the giant began spinning around, forming a miniature tornado around his person. Gathering his energy, the man unleashed it in the form of a red spinning disk; the attack flying towards Goten's position.

Catching sight of the disk out of the corner of his eye, the Son boy hesitated for only a second as he tried to think of how to dodge it while continuing his clash with Kakao. That second was all the alien needed as he slammed his fist into the saiyan's face, causing him to drift backwards and completely vulnerable for the incoming attack.

At the last second, Goten twisted his body, barely dodging the brunt of the disk as it bit into his arm. Hissing as he felt the slice, the saiyan grabbed his cut arm, feeling the trickle of blood seeping through his fingers.

In the meantime, Kakao prepared for another attack, this one aiming to cause even more damage to the helpless saiyan. However, he never got to put his plan into action as he felt something go right through him; the object running from his groin right up through his head.

A few moments passed before the alien began to drift in two different directions, revealing the damage of his wound. Behind him, Trunks hovered, his sword being held over his head.

When the oddly colored saiyan saw Goten in a bit of trouble, he had rushed over with his sword drawn and sliced the alien vertically in two. Floating, the saiyan watched as Kakao's two halves continued to drift apart before falling down to the root covered ground.

"You bastards!" Daizu shouted as he rushed at Trunks. As one of his hands began to glow with energy, looking to blast the saiyan warrior into the next dimension, he was caught by surprised as a ki blast rammed into him. With a cry of surprise, he was destroyed a second later, leaving no evidence of his existence once the beam fly away.

Turning his head in the direction the ki blast has come from, Trunks saw Goten with one of his hands pointing in the direction of the incinerated humaniod.

Suddenly, Amond was right behind the oddly colored saiyan, one of his fists raised up in the air and ready to cause the boy pain. With a war cry growing louder from his throat, the oversized warrior threw his punch at the defenseless fighter.

His attack never reached his opponent. The next thing anyone knew, a thin beam with another swirling around it burst from Amond's chest, stopping everyone in their tracks; time seeming to slow down. A few seconds later, the beam faded away, leaving a decent sized hole in the large fighter's chest.

It was then that time sped back up as Amond's body fell down to the root covered ground. Turning their attention away from the falling corpse, the two saiyans spotted a familiar sight.

Standing on a high reaching tree root, the mantled covered, turban wearing Piccolo stood, his cape softly flapping behind him. A stoic look covered his green face as he looked at his former compatriots.

That was when a smirk appeared on the Namek's lips. "Looks like I arrived just in time."

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: Amnesia...interesting idea...


	29. Eclipsed

Yep, this isn't ya'lls imaginations. This is an update. Just look at the sparkily freshness of it. If I could smell it, it would be a lovely, lemony smell.

And now I'm thinking of Pinesol. Weird.

* * *

"So what are you two doing here?" Piccolo asked as he drifted towards them. "Last I recall, you were heading back to Vegeta."

"Well, we had a change of plans," Goten answered as he scratched the back of his head. "We found Vegeta in less than one piece."

"Someone blew it up huh?" the Namek guessed. "With as many people as you guys pissed off, I shouldn't be surprised."

"You know, a little sympathy would be welcomed," Trunks retorted. "We are homeless after all; the rest of our race died as well."

"Oh believe me, I do sympathize," Piccolo said. "But you learn to cope with it after awhile."

"We're not planning on coping with that," Trunks said. "We're gonna bring back our planet and we've got the plan to do it too."

The Namek's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. How in the world are you gonna pull that off? Find a magical dragon and wish it back?"

Goten snorted. "We're not doing anything that lame, Piccolo. We found out there's this relic that will allow you to travel back in time. We figure if we travel back to a point before Vegeta was destroyed, we can stop it."

The green warrior's eyes narrowed. "I'm assuming you think it was a person that blew the planet up rather than a natural occurrence."

"That's right," Trunks confirmed. "We even know the approximate time period we need to go to. We've been gathering the keys that will allow us to use the relic and finally collected them all. We were on our way to activate it when we saw that big tree sticking out of your planet and decided to lend a helping hand."

"How generous of you," Piccolo responded. "Since the two of you are here, Gohan can't be too far away. Shall we go find him?"

The moment both saiyans' heads lowered, the Namek knew something was wrong. "Something happened to Gohan," Piccolo stated. "What happened?"

A long silence met the warrior, causing dread to well up in his gut. It was Trunks who finally confirmed his worst fear. "Gohan…he…we lost him…in battle. Nothing's been the same since."

The next thing either Trunks or Goten knew, Piccolo had both of his hands on one of the saiyans' shoulders. "I'm sorry…" was all he could say as he squeezed their shoulders as a sign of comfort.

Another moment of silence passed before the Namek finally asked "So what are your plans then? Are you still going to bring back your home planet?"

It was Goten who answered him this time. "Yes we are. But we're gonna make a detour first."

It didn't take much for Piccolo to figure out what the Son boy meant, causing him to give a small grin. "I see. Well, since you two are helping my home, it's only fitting that I repay the favor and help you."

Both boys' eyes lit up. "You're gonna come with us? Really?" Goten asked, acting like a young child.

Piccolo smirked. "That's right."

"Well, that's all good and everything but we've got a few pressing matters at hand," a voice said behind the Namek. Turning around, the three warriors found Tien floating nearby, his arms crossed over his chest.

Slowly, Piccolo nodded his head. The last time he had ever spoken any words to this man, they had left on less than friendly terms. After all, it wasn't everyday you killed someone's best friend.

"So do you know anything about this tree?" the bald human asked as he drifted closer to them.

Piccolo shook his head. "Nothing. It sprouted one day and whenever someone from my people tried to attack it, those fighters you all fought would kill them. I was on the other side of the planet when everything happened so I just got here."

Tien nodded his head. "Well then, I say we try to find out who's in charge here. The guys we just fought don't strike me as the leadership type."

"So you think this leader guy is nearby?" Goten questioned.

"That'd be my guess. Perhaps somewhere up in the branches."

With the others nodding their agreement, the four fighters floated up towards the sky, heading towards the oversized branches of the gigantic tree. As they reached a gnarl in the tree, they stopped their ascent. It seemed the person they were looking for was waiting in that hole.

For a moment, Goten could've sworn his eyes were deceiving him. In that gnarl stood a tall green man, a man who appeared to be an older version of Piccolo. He wore only a purple gi shirt and pants and brown shoes. On the shirt was a large oriental symbol.

That one look at the man caused the Son boy's own Namek comrade to growl. "What is he doing here?" he snarled.

Goten looked at the green warrior. "You know this guy?"

"Unfortunately," Piccolo replied bitterly. "That man is my father."

"And an ungrateful son you are," the other Namek called out, a snide look on his face. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be breathing right now, Junior."

"The only reason you made me was for your own selfish ambition!"

"And your point?"

"Umm, sorry to break up this family reunion," Trunks interrupted, earning him a glare from Piccolo, "but would you mind tell everyone who that guy is? Does he have a name or something?"

"You want my name?" Piccolo's father called out. "I suppose I can grant your request. I am King Piccolo, the overthrown ruler of the Nameks."

"Overthrown my ass!" Piccolo roared. "You led an army to take control of everything! Or have you forgotten that in your old age?"

"Well, not a lot of lost love here," Tien mumbled.

"We can worry about semantics later," Trunks spoke. "We've got more important things to worry about; that enormous tree being one of them. Now then, tell me briefly what the two of you are talking about."

Piccolo replied, though he never removed his eyes from his father. "That man tried to take over Namek a long time ago. He even tried to use me in his conquest, though I refused to do his bidding. His plan fell apart and he was exiled off of Namek. This was a few years before the humans arrived and took control."

The oddly colored saiyan nodded his head. "So that's his story. Well then Piccolo, if you would, shut up and let me and Goten do all the talking. Obviously there some bad blood between the two of you."

The Namek in questioned glared at the saiyan. "Fine," was all the answer he got.

"Alright old man," the oddly colored saiyan said as he turned his attention to back to the older Namek. "I want to know what this tree is and what you're planning on doing with it."

"Cocky little thing, aren't you," King Piccolo commented. "I refuse to answer those questions as they are of little concern to you. This tree is my business and mine alone. If you value your life, I suggest you leave."

Trunks frowned. "Well old man, this tree is my business. I've already taken the time to land my ship on this planet, kill a couple people, and now have to deal with some rude, wrinkled prune."

"Watch your tongue!" the Namek shouted. "How dare you speak to me that way. I am a King on the verge of Godhood!"

"Godhood?" Goten questioned. "And how do you expect to do that?"

Throwing one of his hands behind him, King Piccolo pointed at the tree he stood on. "The Tree of Might you see before you will grant me that power. Once it bears fruit, this planet will be of little use to anyone outside of being my private garden."

"Well, that answers that," the Son boy said. "I think it's time to kick his ass."

The old Namek's eyes widened. He hadn't meant to reveal all of that; any of that to be accurate. His anger got the best of him again, something he had been working on. Why did that tendency to monologue get the best of him at these crucial moments?

Though he was a strong fighter, he was no fool. One didn't reach his age without knowing a few things, specifically how to sense an opponent's ki. Currently, the two teenagers with hair were clearly stronger than he was, or so his senses told him. That could be rectified with a piece of fruit from the Tree of Might. Just a little more time until the fruit ripened and he would have all the power he needed. Until then…

Pursing his lips, King Piccolo let out a high-pitched whistle. Moments later, two men appeared from within the gnarl. At first glance, they were a mismatched pair. One was a very short, purple man with a large orange hat and a pair of dark sunglasses on his head. Blue pants and orange topcoat covered the rest of his body.

The other man was a very tall, very bulky, silver man with a head of black hair tied into a braid. He only wore green pants with brown combat boots and gloves, leaving his upper body shirtless.

Smirking, the old Namek said "These are my personal bodyguards. I found them while I was in exile. For some reason, someone saw fit to toss them aside into the abyss of the universe. But I suppose one man's trash is another's treasure."

All four warriors glared. "You sense what I'm sensing," Tien spoke. "Or better yet, not sensing?"

Goten nodded his head. "Yeah, androids."

"Fourteen," King Piccolo said as he looked at the silver android. Turning his head to the purple one, he addressed "Fifteen; they're all yours."

That was when the one called Fourteen raised his left hand, his fingers pressed together. Soon, his gloved fingertips began to glow a bright yellow before a beam fired out, heading towards the four fighters.

Reacting, all four warriors dodged the attack as it flew out towards the horizon. Smirking, Fifteen rose both of his hands and charged up his own energy. A second later, he fired an energy blast, the attack racing towards Tien.

Unfortunately for Tien, the beam rammed right into him, detonating on contact. As smoke covered the area of the explosion, his limp body fell out of the cloud; gravity forcing him to fall to the ground.

This caused Piccolo to growl irritably. "The human is out." Looking back towards the androids, the Namek couldn't help but scowl as he noticed the missing presence of King Piccolo. This prompted him to call out to his saiyan counterparts. "Trunks, Goten; think you can handle these androids while I deal with my father?"

"No sweat," Goten called back. "We'll come help you after we deal with these guys. Just give us a moment to clear the way."

The Namekian merely nodded his head in affirmation as he watched the two saiyan take off, charging at the two androids; Goten at Fifteen and Trunks at Fourteen. As the two closed in, both androids leapt from the gnarl, ready to fight off the charging youths.

At the last moment, both saiyans used bursts of speed, disappearing sight. A moment later and both reappeared, Goten behind Fifteen with his hands clasped together over his head and Trunks to the side of Fourteen with a fist drawn back. Simultaneously, both warriors threw their respective attacks, sending one android down towards the ground and the other away from the tree.

Piccolo immediately seized the opportunity as he raced towards the hole, disappearing within its depths.

In the meantime, Goten had given chase to the plunging Fifteen. As the Son boy closed in on his opponent, Fifteen recovered himself as he began to hover in midair. Looking up to see the incoming saiyan, the android flew right at him, faster than Goten anticipated, and slammed a punch right into the boy's face.

Due to the sudden blow, Goten's momentum was killed instantly as he stopped his flight, his head jerking backwards as spit flew from his mouth. That was all the time he gave to being dazed as he immediately recovered. With a war cry, the Son boy began throwing a rapid flurry of punches.

In response, the robotic man threw his own punches, dodging and blocking as many blows his opponent threw at him as he could while having his given the same treatment. A stalemate quickly ensued between the fighters as they tried to pound their foe.

Growing irritated of this, Goten changed tactics, allowing his robotic opponent to go completely on the offensive as he settled into defensive movements. Dodging a couple of blows and blocking another, the saiyan found an opening he'd been looking for and promptly attacked it, landing a punch to Fifteen's stomach.

With the little man momentarily stunned, the young saiyan carried on his advantage as he grabbed the back of the purple man's overcoat and swung his leg up, slamming his knee into the android's chin.

After that, Goten then swung his body around, pulling his opponent with him. Using as much strength as he could, he threw Fifteen right at the tree, the man crashing right into it. Quickly, the saiyan warrior gathered his ki and fired a ki blast right at him, causing an explosion.

As smoke covered the last spot Fifteen had been, Goten slowly relaxed his body. Perhaps these androids weren't as tough as Gero and his gang. Who ever made this guy must've been an amateur.

Those thoughts, however, proved to be wrong as twin energy balls suddenly shot out of the cloud, racing at the saiyan. The only thing Goten could do to protect himself was to cross his arms in front of his body just as the balls exploded on him.

* * *

"Why do I always get the big guys?" Trunks complained as he flew backwards, keeping his eyes on the charging Fourteen.

Deciding to go in for an attack, the oddly colored saiyan slowed his speed down a bit, allowing the silver android to catch up with him. With a balled up fist, Trunks threw his blow, only for his opponent to stop his chase and dodge the punch. Reacting, Fourteen threw his own punch, this one landing in the saiyan's gut.

Caught off guard, Trunks was stunned as he coughed up some spit. Taking advantage of this, Fourteen moved both of his hands to the saiyan's head, gripping him on both sides. With a swing of his head, the android headbutted the boy, causing him to let out a yelp of pain.

Releasing his hold, Fourteen pulled one of his legs back and then swung it at his saiyan opponent, causing Trunks to fly away. However, Trunks didn't go too far as he recovered himself, flipping his body in midair until he faced the android. With both hands raised in front of him, the saiyan fired a decent sized ki blast at his opponent.

In response, Fourteen crossed one of his arms in front of his chest before swinging it out, swatting the blast away. Neither fighter made another move after that.

This caused Trunks to growl. This android was proving to be a bit tougher than he thought it would be. At the moment, he could feel a tingling feeling running by his nose and mouth, causing him to left a hand up to rub at it. When his hand moved away, he noticed a bloodstain on the back of his hand. Just great, this guy managed to make his nose bleed.

"You're gonna pay for that," the saiyan threatened, his anger growing inside of him. Fourteen didn't respond. Instead, the android began to charge at the saiyan, ready to dish out more pain.

Baring his teeth, Trunks allowed his opponent to close in on him before using a burst of speed to disappear. With the disappearance of his target, Fourteen stopped his charge, looking around to locate the youth.

A short distance away and below the android, Trunks floated with both hands over his head. Soon, a large golden ki ball appeared over his palms. "Eat this you scrapheap!" Trunks shouted as he threw the ball. "Final Buster!"

Hearing the shout, Fourteen turned to look at its origins, seeing the incoming ki ball. Reacting, the android threw himself to a side, dodging the attack.

That was when Trunks came charging in as he imbedded a fist in his foe's stomach. With brutal efficiency, the saiyan threw several more punches, each one making contact with Fourteen's midsection.

Pausing, Trunks then swung his lower body up, the toes of his boots colliding with Fourteen's chin, causing his head to snap backwards. Floating upside down for a moment, the saiyan crossed both of his arms in front of his chest as he gathered his ki. Then with a loud cry, he thrust his arms out to his sides and released his ki, an explosion covering the area.

As the flames and smoke died down, Trunks appeared right side up and staring out in front of him. Some distance away, Fourteen hovered, staring back right at the saiyan. There were burn marks all over his chest and his pants were torn slightly.

"Feeling the heat, big guy?" Trunks taunted, once again receiving silence as a reply. "Well, it's time to end this thing." Moving his hand towards his shoulder, the saiyan grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew it, holding it out in front of him. "Prepare to die."

Flaring up his aura, the oddly colored saiyan dashed at Fourteen, his blade held to his right. Reacting, the android threw one of his hands out in front of him and fired an energy blast at the boy.

Taking the blast head on, Trunks allowed it to detonate on him, sending flame and smoke all over. Still flying, he exploded on his opponent's side of the cloud. A second later and he was behind the android, his sword being held on the opposite side of his body.

A few moments passed before the results of the saiyan's strike revealed themselves. Without provocation, the lower half of Fourteen separated from the rest of his body; the cut being made at about the waist as electricity danced at the opening. Looking down at the damage, the android seemed to have forgotten all about his opponent as he assessed his injury.

Without hesitating, Trunks struck once more, this time making sure his attack was final. Turning his body to his left, the saiyan leapt at his opponent, thrusting his sword at the same time. This time the blade pierced the back of Fourteen's head, digging into his skull until it burst out of his face.

Fourteen immediately went stiff as electricity danced on his face. Slowly, Trunks drew his sword out of the android and watched as his now lifeless top half fell to the ground below.

* * *

Standing on one of the many tree roots, Goten dropped Fifteen's broken body on top of the barked tree anatomy. Pieces of the android's purple skin were missing, revealing the mechanical innards to the world. One of the lenses to his sunglasses was missing, showing off his lifeless robotic eyes.

Looking up into the sky, Goten watched as he saw the last of Fourteen fall from the sky. Turning his attention back to Trunks as the saiyan sheathed his sword.

"It's about time you finished the washing machine!" the Son boy called up to the oddly colored saiyan, catching his attention. Completely sure that his opponent wouldn't be moving any longer, the saiyan floated up to his comrade.

"It's not my fault I like to fight stronger opponents, Goten," Trunks answered him the boy reached him. "You might want to try fighting one."

"I've fought tough guys before," the Son boy retorted.

"Oh yeah? Then name one you fought recently."

"I beat that Angie guy."

"After Gohan weakened him."

"Hey, he was tough!"

"Well, he wasn't at full strength," Trunks countered. "And you can't say Wheelo either since he pounded you into the ground."

"Hey, he did the same to you!" Goten shot back.

"But I'm not the one saying I fight tough opponents all the time."

Goten growled. "I'm gonna beat you up so bad you won't wake up for three weeks!"

"Only in your dreams, Goten, only in your dreams."

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: So it appears. Could've done better I think.


	30. Everything's Magic

I have some good news for you folks! I've finally finished writing this whole story out so expect more regular updates. Wow, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders...amaaaaazing...

* * *

It didn't take long for Piccolo to track down his old man. In fact, the older Namek stood out in the open within the gnarl of the tree. Oddly enough, the hole didn't have a roof in the sense of a ceiling. Instead, the leaves from the tree created the closure over the two.

"So I see you left your allies behind," King Piccolo commented, his arms crossed over his chest. "They'll be in their graves shortly."

"That's what you think," Piccolo retorted. "I've fought with those two and they aren't pushovers. I wouldn't lower myself to fight with amateurs."

"And they say I'm arrogant," the older Namek said amused. "So I take it you think you can fight me as you are now."

"I'm more than enough to put you down permanently."

"So you say. But it's been years since we've been in combat."

"I'm not the same little boy I once was."

"I never showed that little boy my true power," King Piccolo answered back. "I always held myself back since you were to be my heir. Now though, I'll show you just exactly how strong I really am."

Losing the grin on his face, King Piccolo's eyes widened, firing thick, twin eyebeams at his offspring. Reacting, Piccolo dodged to a side, but not fast enough as the eyebeams pierced one of the shoulder guards on his mantel.

Growling, the Namek gathered his ki as quickly as he could and threw one of his hands out in front of him, firing a ki blast at his opponent. In response, King Piccolo dodged his younger foe's attack, gathering his own ki all the while. Raising up both of his arms as Piccolo's ki blast exploded behind him, the older Namek fired his own ki blast.

This time, Piccolo leapt high into the air as the counter ki blast detonated where he once stood. With one hand aimed at his father and the other one gripping his wrist, the Namekian fired another ki blast; once again his father dodging as he leapt forwards with an explosion erupting behind him.

Instead of counterattack, King Piccolo held his ground, crossing his arms over his chest once more as he watched Piccolo descend back to the ground. "Impressive. You've gotten stronger since the last time we met. You've even matured into a smart fighter as well."

"No thanks to you," Piccolo replied.

For once, King Piccolo lost his smug expression, replacing it with a frown. "You really wish to have nothing to do with me, don't you? Pity."

"You know my feelings," Piccolo said. "I have nothing more to say to you." Raising his hands, the Namek grabbed the collar of his mantle with one of his hands and the turban on his head with the other. With fluid movements, he removed them, leaving him standing in only his purple gi. "The only thing I have left that wishes to be involved with you are my fists."

Keeping his frown, King Piccolo said "So be it."

Instantly, the older Namek used a burst of speed to disappear from sight. Reappearing right next to his progeny, the old warrior held one of his hands out, his fingers slightly curled towards the palm, and slammed it into Piccolo's face, sending him flying.

Recovering, Piccolo twisted his body around to land on his feet and face where his opponent was. The only problem was that his father was no where to be seen.

Behind the Namekian, King Piccolo appeared with both of his hands clasped over his head. With a swing, he jackhammered his son on his head, causing him to collapse on the ground.

"A little disappointing," the Namek commented smugly. "Let's liven this up a little bit." Grabbing a hold of Piccolo's leg, his father then twisted his own body around and threw the younger Namek high into the air. Gathering his ki, he forced it up his throat and fired a ki blast from his mouth.

This time, however, Piccolo reacted much faster, dodging the blast. With a war cry, the Namek charged at his father, one of his hands crossed over his chest with his fingers stiff and the thumb curled into the palm.

Smirking, King Piccolo gathered his ki once more, focusing it into his hand. A moment later, a bright disk of ki appeared hovering over his hand. As his son closed in on him, the older Namek threw the disk, the attack flying at the incoming Piccolo.

Due to proximity, Piccolo couldn't dodge the disk completely, moving just enough to get most of his body out of the way. His left arm, however, didn't quite make it out of the way as the disk sliced right through it, severing it at the bicep.

With a cry of pain, Piccolo fell to the ground, managing to land in a crouched stance as he held the remains of his arm.

Loud laughter rang out soon after. "You've really slacked off in your training, haven't you?" King Piccolo mocked. "And here I was expecting a great battle. Just look at yourself. I've been dominating the whole match and you've yet to hit me!"

Clenching his teeth, Piccolo stood straight, looking at his opponent. "I'll admit that you've taken the upper hand so far. You're combat experience is in a league of its own."

"Obviously," the Namek agreed haughtily.

"But I have a few tricks on my own," the younger Namek said. "And here's one of them!"

Throwing his only good arm in front of him, the appendage immediately began to extend, flying at King Piccolo to land a punch to his face. In response, the Namek simply tilted his head to a side, allowing the extending arm to pass him without harm. "If that's the best you've got, you're in for a world of pain!" the green man shouted as be began to charge at his son.

Unbeknownst to the elder Namek, Piccolo's overextended arm stopped stretching. Bending itself at his elbow and pointing perpendicular to the rest of his arm, Piccolo began to retract his arm, the appendage returning faster than his opponent's movement. A moment later, the forearm of Piccolo collided with the back of King Piccolo's head, causing him to stumble in his charge.

After the impact, Piccolo's arm returned to its normal shape, allowing him to seize on his foe's opening. Using a burst of speed, the Namek was in front of his father in a second, imbedding his knee into the old man's stomach; his opponent bending over the knee as he lost his breath and spit from the blow.

Using his only hand, Piccolo, placed it on his father's shoulder and pushed him off his knee, sending the man staggering backwards. Balling up his fist, he leapt at his foe, punching him in the face viciously. The moment his feet touched the ground, he then raised one of his legs up and pivoted on the other, swinging the raised leg, and landing a kick to King Piccolo's head once more; this time sending the fighter a distance away before he landed on the ground, skidding for a few feet.

Instead of giving chase though, Piccolo chose to stand his ground as he straightened out his posture as he looked at his old man. Slowly, be began to gather his ki once more.

"Not bad," came the sound of his father's voice. Slowly, the Namek pushed his body up, soon getting back onto his feet. "That wasn't bad at all. Though you should've pressed your advantage more."

"All in due time," Piccolo responded. A second later, a hand, followed by an arm, burst from the stump of his left arm, green juices dripping off of it. "Now if you think that last attack was good, let's see what you think when I do it with two arms."

"Is that all you were—"

King Piccolo wouldn't be able to finish that sentence as his son suddenly fired twin eyebeams at him, forcing him to dodge to a side. Immediately, Piccolo used a burst of speed to disappear from sight, reappearing in midair behind the leaning figure of his father, his leg drawn behind him. With a swing, the Namek nailed a kick to the back of his father's head, sending him flying once more.

Landing on the ground, Piccolo threw both of his arms up towards his head, his hands hovering perpendicularly against each other in front of his forehead. Gathering his ki, he then thrust both hands out and fired a large ki blast, shouting "Masenko Ha!"

Opening an eye as he flew, King Piccolo saw the Masenko closing in on him. Twisting his body, the older Namek managed to dodge the beam. A scream of pain erupted from his lips, however, as he felt his arm get caught in the blast.

As the blast flew away and exploded on the gnarl wall, the older Namek landed on the ground, grasping his arm stump.

"Get up!" Piccolo called out curtly. "You and I both know you can regrow your arm. Get on with it so we can finish this fight."

King Piccolo growled at the remark. How dare that impertinent man scold him as if he were a five year old? He had more combat experience and power than that brat could ever dream of obtaining. He'd show him; oh he would.

Focusing his energy to his stump, a new arm sprouted out, dripping with the same green juices as Piccolo's new arm had previously. "I'll kill you where you stand!" King Piccolo shouted as he dashed towards his younger opponent; a war cry flying from his wide open mouth.

Patiently, Piccolo waited as his father closed in on him. As his old man swung a fist at him, he blocked it effortlessly with one arm, countering with a powerful punch to the Namek's gut. Stunned, all King Piccolo could do was gasp in pain, his eyes bulging from their sockets, a whimpering sound escaping from his lips.

Moving his balled up fist from his opponent's stomach, Piccolo gathered his ki into the same hand. Opening his hand up, he released the ki in the form of a shockwave, sending his father flying away until he crashed to the ground, skidding on his back several feet more.

A few moments passed before the fallen Namek let out a groan as he tried to get over the pain in his midsection, his eyes shut tight. How could this have happened to him? He had been one of the strongest Namekians on Namek when he had last been here. His son had barely been able to stand on his own feet, much less fight him the last time he had seen him; but now he'd been outclassed in every aspect of battle. The reality of it all was staggering.

Opening his eyes, the old Namek found himself look up to the branches of the Tree of Might; the ones that formed a canopy in this gnarl. Sitting in plain sight, a piece of fruit hung from its branch, looking ripe and waiting to be eaten.

That made King Piccolo's eyes widen. There it was, his chance at victory! All he had to do was ingest the juices of that piece of fruit and there would be nothing on this planet that could stop him!

That was when a voice made itself known. "Looks like you've gotten everything taken care of Piccolo." Tilting his head to a side, the old man saw two of his son's companions entering the chamber, each looking smug. They must've taken care of his bodyguards, the rotten scoundrels. No matter; not even they could stop his plan.

"Yeah, no worries," Piccolo spoke up. "I was just about to finish this fight."

"Not…over…my dead…body," King Piccolo retorted as he got back to his feet. "I refuse to let an upstart like you defeat me…"

"You have no choice, old man," his son shot back. "It's obvious I have this fight. Now die and be no more."

"Only in your wildest dreams," the Namek replied as he started to lift off the ground, flying up towards the canopy. "I've got one last trump card that'll be sure to finish you all off."

"If that's the way you want to play it, fine; give me your best shot," Piccolo said. "I'll render it useless and send you to the next world."

A small smile covered the old man's face. "That's what you think," he spoke softly before he poured on more speed, racing towards the fruit. Grabbing and yanking it off the branch, the Namek took off into the maze of tree branches, leaving his foes crying out in surprise.

"He's getting away!" one of the humanoid fighters shouted.

Using his ki sense, King Piccolo felt the three fighters give chase, trying to track him down. There wouldn't be any need for that though, once he got out into the open. Fortunately, that didn't take long as he burst out into open air. Putting some more distance between him and the tree, the Namek stopped and turned around, facing the tree with a smirk on his face.

Soon after, his pursuers flew out of the tree and immediately stopped upon seeing him. Something was up, all three of them knew, but what they weren't sure.

"Did you know that Namekians cannot digest food of substance?" King Piccolo asked the three. "One of the few races that are like that as a matter of fact."

"What's your point?" Piccolo demanded.

"Tsk, tsk, so impatient, aren't you, son?" King Piccolo said mockingly. "Allow me to demonstrate." Lifting up the piece of fruit in his hand, he explained "Were I or any Namekian to eat this, it would sit inside of our stomach, rotting away slowly. Our body functions don't allow us the proper digestive methods to dissolve the food and absorb its nutrients. Liquids, however, are a different matter." At that point, the Namek brought the piece of fruit to his mouth.

"Since we are a race that doesn't eat food, it raises up some questions, notably our teeth. As you can see, every Namekian has a set of fangs. These were originally used so that Nameks could obtain some sort of liquid nourishment, usually found within plants. All one would have to do is puncture the outer skin and a meal is ready to be served." As if to give an example of his speech, the Namek bit into the fruit, his lips closing against its skin as he began to suck. This action carried on for awhile until the old Namek had his fill and pulled the fruit away.

"And what's the point of this biology lesson?" Goten spoke. "What does this have to do with this fight at all?"

"The fruit you see in my hand is the one that the Tree of Might grows," King Piccolo explained. "Since I cannot eat the fruit, I must obtain its nutrients through another way; drinking its juice."

It was then that the three warriors felt King Piccolo's power skyrocket, much to their shock. The Namek's body suddenly convulsed and expanded, causing him to clench his grip and crush the fruit in his hand. "And with this new power of mine granted by the Tree of Might, you don't stand a chance!"


	31. Fear

It seems I've been displeasing people with the direction this fic has gone. As I've said to a few, I'm sorry they feel this way. There isn't much more to this story so hopefully ya'll will stay on board. For those of you who don't like the current arc, no worries. It ends with this chapter.

For those of you who still enjoy this story, I'd like to thank you all. I hope these last few chapters keep you entertained.

* * *

A war cry was shouted as King Piccolo rushed in, imbedding his knee into his son's stomach. As Piccolo bent over the knee, spit flying from his mouth, the older Namek jerked his arms to either side of him, extending them to grab Trunks and Goten by the side of the heads.

Simultaneously, King Piccolo retracted his arms and swung them towards each other. The result was the two slamming into each other, their heads colliding. With another swing of his arms, the powerful Namek threw the young warriors away, their bodies flying away.

Moving his arms once again, King Piccolo grabbed Piccolo on both sides of his head and moved it up. Keeping his knee bent, he then slammed his son's head with his knee; repeating the action a couple times more.

With one final slam, the Namek raised his opponent's body, still gripping the sides of his bruised face. Gathering his ki, he forced it up his mouth and fired a ki blast, the beam nailing Piccolo in the chest and carrying away as his father released his grip. An explosion occurred on the surface of the Tree of Might, right where the ki blast impacted it with Piccolo on it.

A loud war cry came from the left of King Piccolo, causing him to look in that direction. Spotting Goten as he came charging in, the Namekian merely smirked and waited for his new opponent to attack. Apparently, the other saiyan had been knocked out by the previous skull-bashing, rendering him useless once he landed on the ground below.

With a balled up fist, the Son boy threw a barrage of punches at his older foe, each blow never landing as the green man blocked them all effortlessly.

"Is that all you've got?" King Piccolo mocked as he continued to block.

Growling, Goten quickly gathered some ki and fired a ki blast at point blank range. However, King Piccolo used a burst of speed to disappear from sight; the ki blast flying off into the distance.

Appearing behind the saiyan, the Namek held both of his arms above his head clasped together. With a swing, he jackhammered the warrior on the head, sending him falling towards the ground.

"That was simpler than I thought it'd be," King Piccolo commented as he looked towards the dark headed saiyan's crash site. "The power of this fruit is truly extraordinary."

"Then perhaps you'd want to fight someone that's stronger than a radish," a voice said from behind him.

Turning around quickly, the old Namek couldn't help but pale slightly at who he saw. Floating with his arms crossed over his chest, the gaudily dressed Slug stared at him with a smirk. Even if he had been off the planet for as long as he had, even King Piccolo knew of this Namek's status.

"I hadn't thought I'd run into you of all people," the old Namek said as he completely faced the recent arrival.

"That's obvious. You're knees are shaking just looking at me."

"How dare you?!" King Piccolo shouted, throwing up one of his arms as he charged up his ki and fired a ki blast.

Keeping his stance as well as his smirk, Slug waited until the last moment to swing one of his arms and slap the blast away, much to the surprise of his opponent.

"Not bad," Slug commended before moving the same arm and pointing it out in front of him, the index finger extended. "Now it's my turn."

With that, a bright yellow beam fired from his finger tip, flying straight at King Piccolo. The only thing the Namek could do was move to a side at the last moment, the beam slicing through his shirt as it passed by.

Turning his head to face his foe, King Piccolo was caught off guard as a fist slammed into his face, stunning him as it snapped his head to a side. The next thing he knew, a knee imbedded itself in his stomach, causing him to bend over it as he lost his breath.

With his smirk still in place, Slug grabbed his elder foe by the belt around his waist. Using his strength, he threw King Piccolo away, sending him flipping out of control as he flew through the air. Gathering his ki, the Super Namek fired a ki blast after the fighter.

However, King Piccolo recovered faster than he had anticipated, stopping his out of control flight with both of his hands clasped together over his head. "Take this!" he shouted as he swung his jackhammer, hitting the beam and sending it back at its creator.

Slug merely moved out of the way as the ki blast flew by him, exploding on one of the tree roots below.

"You're not as strong as I thought you were," King Piccolo called out as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought a Super Namek was much stronger than this."

"If I'm not mistaken, I'm the one pushing you around," Slug retorted.

"That's only because I allowed you to," the Namek replied. "I wanted to see how strong you really were but I see that my fears of you were over-exaggerated."

"A likely story."

"You doubt my skill? Then allow me to show you!"

With a war cry, King Piccolo charged at Slug, his hands balled into fists. A bit alarmed by the speed his opponent was displaying, the Namek crossed his arms in front of himself just as King Piccolo unleashed a barrage of punches at him. For some reason though, the older Namek was focusing all of his punches on Slugs arms, pushing the two backwards through the air.

Meanwhile, against the Tree of Might, Piccolo was slowly moving his body around. It had taken a bit to recover from his father's beating but he was at least in a position to attack his old man. He'd just have to time it right until he was sure he was completely focused on Slug.

Raising one of his hands up to his forehead, two fingers extended as he began gathering his energy.

All the while, Slug kept his defense up, even as he began to feel jolts of pain going through his arms. What was this guy up to? Was he trying to overpower him or something?

"Come on! Is this the best defense you've got?!" King Piccolo shouted. "You're arms are wearing down with every blow I land!"

A small frown worked onto Slug's face. This guy had no idea what he was talking about. Perhaps it was time to stop this charade and put him on the defensive. Gathering his ki, he focused it into his eyes, firing twin eye beams at a startled King Piccolo. Managing to move, the beams pierced the Namek's right shoulder, causing him to scream in pain.

That scream came to an end very quickly though, as King Piccolo felt Slug ram his head into his midsection, silencing him immediately. Reacting, the Namek grabbed a hold of the back of his opponent outer jacket; the feeling of Slug's arms wrapping around him making itself known as well.

Growling, King Piccolo released the grip of one of his hands and balled it into a fist. Bending his arm at the elbow, he began slamming the elbow down repeatedly onto the bigger Namek's back, hearing the grunts from his foe with each strike.

Getting tired of the hits on his back, Slug then rotated the two in the air, righting himself as he held King Piccolo on top of his head.

Not sure what the Namek had planned, King Piccolo drew one of his legs back and then slammed it into the bulky fighter's face; his knee making the contact. The blow had a bit of an effect as the elder Namek felt Slug loosen his grip a bit. That was all the fighter needed as he grabbed onto the leather straps on his opponent's back and pulled on them, allowing him to slip out of the bigger Namek's grasp.

Flipping over, King Piccolo put some distance between the two, turning around to find Slug with his back still to him; a perfect opening. Gathering his ki, the old Namek couldn't help but smirk as a bright yellow orb formed in his hand.

However, any thought of attacking was put on hold as the green man heard "Special Beam Cannon!" being shouted from the tree. Turning to look at it, the Namek was surprised as he saw a thin beam with a second one swirling around it racing towards him.

It was this feeling of astonishment that kept King Piccolo rooted to where he floated until he felt the urgency to move. Twisting his torso, the Namek had acted too late as the beam cannon nailed him on the right side of his gut; the beam exploding from his back as he cried out in pain.

'Damn it!' Piccolo thought as he held his extended fingers out. He had been counting on that attack to finish his father off; instead only wounding the man. How much power and speed had that old man obtained from the fruit?

Coughing out blood, King Piccolo held his wounded side as he gave a scathing glare at his son, his own flesh and blood. How could that runt do this to him?! If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't even exist!

But he had more pressing matters. He had a Super Namek to do away with and things had just gotten harder with this new injury. There was no way he could fight in this condition. Not to fear though; all he had to do was get his hands on another piece of fruit and he'd be unstoppable. He'd have Slug begging for mercy before he was done with him!

Unfortunately, he didn't have the chance to put that plan into action. Though he had been a bit displeased with the unwanted assistance, Slug wasn't one to let an obvious advantage slip through his fingers. Moving as fast as he could, he appeared next to his opponent and grabbed him by the back of his head. Holding his other hand a little ways in front of the Namek's face, Slug gathered a bunch of ki until a large golden ball appeared in his palm. Without hesitation, he forced the orb of ki into King Piccolo's face, pushing the back of his head into the ki as well.

With a muffle scream, King Piccolo thrashed his arms and legs around, ending up grabbing onto Slugs arms as he strained to move the appendages. Eventually, his resistance died off as he went limp.

Once he felt his ki against his other hand, Slug released his hold on the ball and watched as King Piccolo's decapitated body fell from the sky.

* * *

"So you scrimps are going after the Time Milieu," Slug said as he looked at Goten and Trunks.

After finishing off the scourge of King Piccolo, he gave the younger Piccolo a message to get the saiyan duo back on their feet and to come and meet him. The Super Namek then moved off a ways away from the tree, coming to rest on a root that stood high above the ground.

"That's right," Goten answered as he looked at the guy wearily. They hadn't always been on good terms; it was more like they just grudgingly accepted each other more than anything.

"You're messing with powers you don't understand," the Namek said, looking out towards the horizon.

"That's what we've been told," Trunks replied. "Anyone with an inkling of the Time Milieu has told us the same thing."

"And for good reason. Time is one of the most fickle things around. Change one thing and you may not like what you receive. You might not even exist if you change the wrong thing."

"And what would you know about it?" Goten shot back.

Slug looked at the young saiyan. "Not that it's any of your business but I met the very people who created the device you seek."

Both saiyans' eyes widened, as well as Piccolo's. Slug had been known as a recluse since the day he entered adulthood; how could he have known about a race from outside Namek?

"Back in my younger days, I was a very violent youth," Slug explained. "It got to a point the village elders couldn't tolerate my destructive ways. In an effort to suppress those feelings, I was sent to the Great Namek Elder, Guru. Despite being an oversized windbag, he succeeded in pacifying me, even if it was just a little.

"One day he was approached by these dying aliens. They seemed desperate for help and Guru seemed to know them. During their meeting, they begged the old man to help undue their greatest invention; a device that could alter time itself. The old man declined, saying that what had been made could not be unmade. However, he promised he would help them hide the device and let the annuals of time let it fade into nothingness.

"In order to hide the Time Milieu, Guru did something that I shall never forget. Before my eyes, he took seven large stones and transformed them into gems. He called them Dragonballs; something I had been told had been nothing but a myth by the Nameks. It had been said these balls could grant the wish of the one who gathered all seven of them; anything the wisher wanted would be within his grasp in an instant.

"Using the Dragonballs, Guru wished that the Time Milieu would be separated and hidden across the galaxy. The wish was granted and the time device left to be forgotten by history. Only a few knowledgeable men would uncover any information on the thing since then."

"How long ago was this?" Goten asked, completely in awe at the story.

"About seventy years, give or take," Slug mused. "Guru died about thirty years after that, taking the Dragonballs with him. The last time I had any interaction with any Nameks was at the old man's funeral until the humans arrived."

A silence fell over the four warriors. Finally, Trunks broke the silence. "So what are you gonna do about this tree? It doesn't look like it's gonna leave willingly."

"I suppose I shouldn't have killed King Piccolo as quickly as I did. He's the only one that knew anything about it."

"When are you heading to the Time Milieu?" Piccolo suddenly spoke, catching the two saiyans off guard.

"We were heading that way when we stopped here," Goten replied, a bit surprised by the question.

"Since I'm going with you, I'll head to Namek after we use this time thing and try to stop my father from planting the seed for this thing. I could use your help in doing so."

"Once we have Gohan with us, we'll definitely do that," Goten replied. "He can help us make short work out of these guys."

"Just be careful with the thing," Slug warned. "Don't think you can use this thing any time something doesn't go your way. You really should only use it once. Two times should be the max you ever do. And if you should do more, not even the Gods could undo the damage."

* * *

To Sigfried Wild: Glad you liked it. I've been losing my touch a bit with these last few chapters.


	32. Good Day

It had been a week since the group had left Namek. Though Trunks, Goten, and Piccolo had gone to look for Tien after their meeting with Slug, they soon found out that he had made his way back to the ship after sensing the lack of an evil presence around. That impression had soon changed upon seeing Piccolo again.

"What's he doing here?" the bald human demanded, his eyes locking in on the green man. He still hadn't forgotten what the Namekian had done to him; taking the life of his closest friend. Previous circumstances had prevented him from taking his vengeance upon him; mainly the fact that they had just finished fighting off a large number of demons and no one was in the mood for a fight.

This time, however, fatigue was not going to get in the way of seeking justice. He'd avenge Chiaotzu and finally be able to put that chapter of his life behind him.

Unfortunately, Goten got in the way. "He's coming with us. We could use his help when we get to the Time Milieu."

"You want the help of this murderer?!" Tien protested.

"Shut up, Tien," Trunks said. "War is full of casualties and we can't always have our way when it comes to who lives and who dies. You didn't have a problem killing saiyans during your occupation."

"But—" the bodyguard tried to argue, only to be interrupted by the other saiyan.

"There are more important things to worry about," Goten snapped. "You two can fight out your differences later; right now I just want to sit back and get this last mission over with. If anyone has a problem without, I'll toss them out of an airlock."

And that had settled the matter, much to Tien's chagrin. A week of having to be in the same space as that Namekian murderer didn't sit well with him at all. But on the bright side, it only took that week to finally reach the resting place of the Time Milieu.

That was where the group was at the moment. They had left their ship on a level plateau since the world they were on was mostly comprised of rocky mountains; not the ideal place to crash a spaceship. It hadn't taken long to find what they were looking for either.

On the side of a mountain, the group of saiyans, humans, and one Namek stared at a large stone door that was built into a wall of stone. Staring at it carefully, the group of six noticed obvious indentions in the door; each one looking similar to one of the keys they possessed.

"Think we should put the relics in each hole?" Tien asked.

"It's worth a shot," Trunks replied. "Hopefully nothing goes wrong with it."

"How could anything go wrong?" Videl asked.

"Well, we could lose the keys if we're wrong."

That comment made the group hesitant, but eventually they moved closer to the door. One by one, they inserted each relic key into their corresponding niche. With that task done, they slowly stepped back to see if anything happened.

One by one, each key began to glow; softly at first but eventually brightly to the point no one could distinguish what each key looked liked.

Suddenly, a vertical line appeared in the middle of the stone door, growing wider as the door slide apart. The sound of rock and stone sliding against each other could be heard throughout the mountain range.

Finally, the doorway was revealed to the group, each person looking into its dark depths. "Time to finish this," Goten said before passing through the entrance, the rest of his companions following soon after.

The next thing anyone knew, they were in a large chamber with another door on the opposite side of them. The door sat right in between the legs of a giant, dull yellow, stone statue; one that looked like a cross between an insect and a demon. Other than that, there was nothing else noticeable.

"Turn back."

Immediately, all the fighters dropped into defensive stances, looking for the voice. Erasa was the lone exception to this as she put all of her energy into cowering behind Goten.

However, the owner of the voice they were looking for was right in the middle of the room; the place the group ended their searching eyes on. Gasps flew from the lips of the humans; quick suctions of breath by the saiyans and Piccolo.

There, standing before them, was Gohan; looking at the group in the strange costume he had worn in Goten, Trunks, and Tien's dream sans helmet.

"Gohan…" Videl breathed as unshed tears began to well up around her eyes. Unconsciously, the Satan girl took a step towards him.

"Turn back, all of you," the Son boy reiterated, a stoic look on his face.

"That's not Gohan," Piccolo declared as he began to glare at the man. This caused Videl to look at the Namek, slightly startled.

"What do you mean that isn't him? That's Gohan!" the girl protested as tears finally began to fall down her cheeks.

Without a word, the Namekian warrior raised one of his hands and charged his ki. A moment later, a ki blast fired from his hand at the oddly dressed saiyan. Much to the surprise of the whole group, the beam went right through him, the beam exploding on the wall behind him.

"Is…is that an image?" Tien said, shocked.

"So it appears," Piccolo replied.

"Turn back," the image warned once more. "Take another step further into this sacred realm and face the wrath of the guardian Hirudegarn. None have ever faced him and lived to tell about it."

"Right," Trunks snorted. "No one has ever gotten into the room, much less fought this Hirudegarn."

"You have been warned," the image said before fading away, leaving the group alone to their thoughts.

"Well, we have to continue on despite this guardian," Goten said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the depressed looked on Videl. The last thing she had needed to see was the sight of her lover standing against them despite the fact that he had only been an image.

"But why Gohan?" Tien asked. "Why was there an image of him here?"

"Perhaps those visions we've had during this quest are responsible," Trunks suggested. "Perhaps the relics got to know us and used our greatest fears against us. That'd be my guess."

"Well, nothing's gonna stop me from using this thing," Goten proclaimed. To prove his statement, the saiyan took a step towards the doorway across the room from them.

Suddenly, the gigantic statue standing over the door began to change. Colors of yellow, purple, brown, and red covered it as the statue came to life. Taking a step away from the doorway that shook the room, the former statue let out a loud roar.

Looking at the revealed beast, yellow covered the majority of its body. There were random patches of purple at various points of its arms and legs, along with its entire tail. A bright red patch was on its head and brown covered its midsection.

The first look at the beast was definitely correct; a cross of an insect and a demon. Insect wings grew from its back as the rest of the body reflected an exoskeleton. Its face was the facet that looked like a demon.

This was the guardian Hirudegarn.

"Perhaps I spoke too soon," Goten mumbled softly.

Raising its clawed hands above its head, Hirudegarn clasped them together before swinging them down. Reacting, all the fighters, with Goten grabbing Erasa, leapt out of the way as the jackhammer slammed into the ground.

A moment later, the guardian's tail lashed out, whipping through the air until it slammed into Piccolo, catching him off guard as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. With the force behind the appendage, the Namekian was carried into the wall of the room, becoming imbedded in it.

Turning its head to a side, the monster gathered its ki into its mouth and fired a large ki blast. Continuing to move its head, the beam caused flames to erupt all along the path it created; tremors shaking the room all over.

Appearing towards the far corner of the room, Goten eased Erasa to the floor. "Watch yourself," was all he said before he took off, flying head on at Hirudegarn. Seeing the charging saiyan, the demon stopped his ki blast and completely turned its body to face its incoming opponent.

With a balled up fist, the guardian threw it at Goten, who tried to stop his flight, holding up his arms to catch the incoming punch. Though his momentum kept him moving forward; it completely stopped as Hirudegarn's fist slammed into the saiyan's outstretched arms, forcing him back. Moving one of his legs, Goten pushed it against the huge hand as he tried to stop the punch in its tracks.

Slowly, the saiyan and the fist came to a stop, much to the fury of Hirudegarn. But the demon was not something that would give up an attack so easily. Whipping its tail behind him, the appendage swung to its left, flying towards the occupied fighter.

And just as the guardian had planned, the tail caught the saiyan off guard, sending him flying away. Turning its large body to continue its attack, it was suddenly attacked as a large amount of ki rammed into it.

Floating high in the air, Tien held his hands out in front of him; the hands forming a triangle. Quickly gathering his ki again, the bald human watched as Hirudegarn turned its attention to him and snarled.

"Ha!" the bodyguard shouted as he fired another Tribeam at it, the attack once again ramming into the giant guardian. The ground underneath the monster broke and caved around its feet; protruding jagged rocks pointing into the air.

Snarling once more, Hirudegarn didn't give its new attacker another chance to attack it. Gathering its ki, the energy slowly warped inside the beast's throat. Upon being released from its mouth, a stream of fire flew straight towards Tien.

Reacting, Tien moved out of the way of the incoming flames, feeling the heat of it as it flew on by. Geez, had he let that inferno actually hit him, the bald human was sure there wouldn't have been anything left of him.

Not one to give up on a miss, Hirudegarn once again gathered its ki and altered it in its throat. It would make sure it hit its target this time as it prepared to fire the attack.

"Mokosen Ha!"

Out of nowhere, a ki blast nailed the guardian in the back, an explosion detonating upon contact. Letting out a roar of pain, the demon felt the searing of flames on its body. Slowing turning its head, Hirudegarn saw Piccolo floating near the wall he had been slammed into minutes earlier.

Bellowing in rage, Hirudegarn turned its body to face the Namekian, its tail once more lashing around and ready to be used.

Appearing low to the ground, Trunks held out one of his hands as he gathered his ki. Shaping it as it appeared hovering over his palm, a disk of ki came into existence. With a grunt, the oddly colored saiyan threw the disk a little ways ahead of Hirudegarn.

With a swing of its fifth appendage, the guardian sent its tail out to seek retribution on the offending fighter that had stopped its attempt to kill one of its opponents. Before the tail got any closer to the Namek though, a disk of energy sliced right through it, separating the appendage cleanly.

Howling in pain once more, Hirudegarn took a step back as the rest of its tail flew back behind it; the severed part landing on the ground squirming. The wriggling lasted a few seconds before the tail went still.

Overcoming its pain, a roar of rage once more left its mouth. Hirudegarn was pissed and it was done messing around with these pests. Sliding its legs out, the guardian leaned forward until its hands pressed against the ground. Slowly, Hirudegarn's entire body began to glow a bright golden light before it unleashed a roar and with it, an expulsion of ki.

An explosion caught all of the fighters off guard, sending them flying from what ever position they were in. The next thing anyone knew, a blinding white light covered the whole area.

And as sudden as it appeared, the explosion died down. The floor was relatively intact, though there were occasional gullies here and there. Surprisingly, the walls were still standing with holes at random intervals. It seemed as if the same force field from the labyrinth where Cell stole the relic key was here as well.

Sprawled out at various points on the floor was the group of saiyans, humans, and the Namek. Everyone, including Erasa, bore burned marks on their bodies. Luckily for Erasa, Videl had appeared in front of her and used as much ki as she could to shield them from the explosion, baring the brunt of the blast until the very end. Videl had run out of ki to sustain the shield and both girls faced the dying attack. Had the Satan girl not done the amount she had, the blonde would've been extra crispy at the moment.

Slowly, the group started to recover, some of them managing to get into kneeling position; any thought of starting the battle again was put on hold. Towering above them, Hirudegarn looked down on them. From what the ki-sensing member could tell, the guardian was preparing another devastating attack. This time though, none of them would be able to avoid it.

With a cry, Hirudegarn opened his mouth as orange flames began to leap out of it. However, the attack would never be performed.

Before anyone could move, a decent sized, green ki ball came flying in. It stayed low to the ground before arcing up into the air, slamming into the giant demon's midsection. In an instant, green flames encompassed the guardian in a giant explosion. In reaction, everyone held either one arm or both in front of their faces, shielding themselves from the torrent of wind that blew at them. Erasa was the only exception as she clung onto Videl's body.

Once the explosion died, everyone turned their attention to look behind them. At the entrance of the room stood Broly, a maniacal grin on his face.

* * *

One more chapter, one more step closer to the end. Fight wasn't my best, I know, but for now, it will suffice. I'm head deep in GohanVidel Week 2.0 with another four days left. Catch all the entries in the fic Redemption Week.


	33. The Pursuit

The group of warriors stared in fear at the Legendary Super Saiyan; apprehension at the likelihood that the giant would eliminate them all before they had the chance to use the Time Milieu. To be so close yet so far from their goal...

It couldn't end this way.

"Son of Kakarot!" Broly shouted, much to the surprise of the fighters. To the humans and Piccolo, they had no clue what the Super Saiyan was shouting; to Goten and Trunks though, they knew what he meant.

"Son of Kakarot?" Tien questioned, keeping his voice low so as not to antagonize Broly. "What is he talking about?"

"It's probably a 'who'," Piccolo replied. "Kakarot is a saiyan name, I'm pretty sure."

"It is," Goten said. "Kakarot is the name of my father."

That caused everyone except Trunks to look at the Son boy. "So what does he want with you?" Videl asked.

"It's probably not me, so much as it's Gohan he wants," Goten responded, never moving his eyes from the giant Broly. "My guess is he wants a rematch with him." Continuing to study the larger saiyan, the Son boy couldn't help but notice the large burn make on his chest, along with what appeared to be a scar on his right shoulder. The singed flesh around the mark made it a bit too hard to tell.

Trunks had also noticed the wounds. "But Gohan isn't here and from what I can see, he was the only one who was able to injury Broly. That must be pissing the guy off to hunt us down all the way out here."

"So what do we do?" Tien inquired. "We can't reasonably fight him off; even Gohan couldn't do that. Sixteen even killed himself trying to do that."

"Well, he wants a Son of Kakarot; I say we give him one," Goten said. This caused the whole group to look at him.

"No, no way are you gonna get yourself killed fighting this guy!" Videl protested. "You're the only one we can't afford to lose right now!"

"And I'm the only one that can hold him at bay, even if it is for only a few minutes," the Son boy replied. "All of you go on ahead. I'll catch up with you at the first chance I get."

Turning his head, Goten looked at Trunks and Piccolo, looking them in the eyes as they both looked into his intently. With a subtle nod, a silent message was passed to them. Turning his attention away from them after that, he settled on Erasa, who looked as if she was gonna burst into tears at any moment.

If there was any one thing Goten felt regret about, it was leaving that girl by herself, just as Gohan had Videl, though that had been unintended. Whereas Videl would continue to fight on, even if she wasn't in the same ideal mindset to, Erasa was more vulnerable. Who knew if she would be able to go on.

Giving her a half-hearted smile, the saiyan turned to look at Broly, who looked as if he was losing his head by waiting. "Son of Kakarot! Come out and fight!" he shouted.

"That's my cue," Goten said. "Get going, now; while you all have the chance to."

Not seeing the nods from his companions, the group made their way to the other door and went through it. Erasa was the only one to look back at the Son boy, a look of sorrow on her face. Finally, she followed the others.

"Son of Kakarot," Broly said, his smirk back on his face.

"Can't tell me apart from Gohan, huh?" Goten commented to himself. "That's okay; I'll make sure you see him shortly."

With a gathering of ki, the saiyan let out a war cry; a golden aura enveloping as his hair stood stiff brightened into a golden color, his eyes becoming teal.

Seeing the transformation, Broly slowly moved into a defensive stance, all the while keeping his smirk.

With a war cry, Goten launched himself at his larger opponent. Using a burst of speed, he disappeared from sight, reappearing off to Broly's right. With a leg drawn back, the saiyan swung it at his foe.

Reacting, Broly blocked the kick easily, turning his body to face the smaller saiyan. As he did so, he allowed his opposite arm to hang back before swinging it at Goten.

In response, Goten used another burst of speed to disappear, reappearing a small distance away and charging his opponent once again. With a fist drawn, he threw it at the Super Saiyan.

This time, Broly moved back a step, watching as the fist flew right in front of his face. Using his right arm, he once again threw a punch at the Son boy.

Swinging his legs up, Goten barely moved his body upward, dodging the punch. Holding both of his arms out to his sides, he drew his right leg up and swung it down, finally landing the blow on Broly's shoulder.

This blow caused the larger saiyan to flinch back, allowing the Son boy to twist himself in midair as he fell back to the ground. Landing on his feet, he immediately pushed off the ground as he threw another punch, this one nailing Broly on the chin and forcing his head to jerk back.

However, before he could carry on with his attack, Goten couldn't help but notice that his opponent had kept his smirk on his face throughout the whole exchange. In fact, the smirk grew wider, causing Goten to widen his eyes. Leaping backwards to put more distance between the two, the saiyan couldn't help feeling a twinge of dread going down his spine as the Legendary Super Saiyan tilted his head forward and begin taking steps towards him, looking as if he had never been hit. Gathering his ki, the Son boy allowed a large orb of ki to appear in his hand. With a throw, he launched the ki ball at his opponent, watching as it detonated on the larger saiyan.

Unfortunately, Broly kept marching on, as he emerged from the cloud of smoke that had covered him, still smirking. With another gathering of ki, Goten threw another ki ball, watching the same result of flames and the continued march.

Suddenly, Broly let out a yell as he launched himself at Goten. Holding one of his arms out by his side, the giant moved to clothesline the saiyan. Reacting, the Son boy ducked the attack, keeping his senses on the hulk to make sure he knew where he was.

This proved to be a mistake as Broly bent his arm at the elbow and jerked it down, slamming it onto the smaller saiyan's head. As Goten fell to the floor from the blow, the golden saiyan was unable to launch another attack as his momentum carried him a little too far from his opponent. Instead, Broly leapt into the air as he gathered his ki. Holding one of his arms above his head, a decent sized ball of green ki appeared.

With a swing of his arm, Broly threw the ball at Goten, who had managed to recover from the previous blow. Turning his head, his eyes widened at the sight of the incoming attack. Quickly gathering his ki, he pushed it threw his arms and fired it at the ground, sending him flying away as his opponent's ki ball detonated at his previous spot.

As green flames consumed the area, Goten suddenly felt a large shoulder ram into him from a side, sending him crashing into a wall, his body being imbedded in it. A bit disoriented, the young saiyan managed to shake it off in time for Broly to appear right in front of him and slam a fist right into his chest, causing his body to be forced deeper into the wall. A small crater formed around him.

"Surely this isn't the best you have?" Broly questioned disappointedly.

He didn't get an answer though as Goten was trying to recover from his bed in the wall. It had been a bit of a surprise to hear the question as Broly had only said "Son of Kakarot" since he arrived.

The Son boy had to admit that things weren't going his way so far. If this was the thing that his brother and Sixteen had gone up against on Earth, there was no way he was leaving this room alive. The only option left to him was to stall this menace for as long as he could, so that Trunks and the others could reach the Time Milieu.

Well, if that was the only path left to him, he was gonna have to pull out all the stops. Looking towards his floating opponent, who looked as if he was becoming impatient with waiting on him, Goten quickly formed a plan. All he needed was to catch this giant baboon off guard.

Growling, the younger saiyan gathered his ki before releasing it all around him, incinerating the wall around him as his aura roared. There was a momentary musing about how easily the wall was destroyed since Hirudegarn's earlier efforts hadn't obliterated them. But then, perhaps it took physical force to actually damage these things or at least get past the protective barriers around them.

But those thoughts were the least of his worries at the moment; his sudden burst of ki had had the desired effect on his opponent as the hulk had backed off slightly.

Free from the wall, Goten used a burst of speed to disappear, reappearing towards the opposite side of the room and standing on the ground. Raising his right arm, he began channeling as much ki as he could into his hand. Soon, a swirling orb of blue ki appeared in his palm.

In the meantime, Broly had found him and was on the move to continue their fight. With his menacing green aura flaring around him, the Super Saiyan charged at his golden opponent.

Goten could feel he was running out of time to charge his attack. It was all or nothing and the Son boy never did things half-assed. Pulling his arm back, he waited until he was sure Broly couldn't dodge his blow, shouting "Alright Broly! THIS ENDS NOW!!" as he threw the ball of ki.

The last thing he saw was his attack colliding with Broly and the resulting explosion covering everything.

* * *

After leaving Goten to deal with Broly, Trunks and the others had found themselves in a very strange place. As far as the eye could, jagged mountains littered the landscape. It was almost as if they had entered a whole other world.

However, there was something at the horizon. The sky around them held a dark bluish color that wasn't reciprocated at one spot. If Trunks looked hard enough, he could've sworn the spot was multi-colored, like a rainbow.

"I take it that's the place we have to go," the oddly colored saiyan spoke, receiving no answer in return. Taking the initiative, Trunks began flying towards that rainbow, the others flying behind him with Videl carrying Erasa.

For awhile, it seemed as if they weren't covering any ground as the location they were heading towards didn't seem to be coming closer. A small concern until they began to notice the rainbow colors were starting to cover more of the sky.

That was when the sound of a large explosion caught their attention, causing the group to turn around and look back at the place they had left Goten. No one said a word as they all caught the significance of the explosion. A heated battle was going on and someone had just released a lot of ki at once. Hopefully, the Son boy hadn't been on the receiving end of the blast.

"Keeping going," Trunks said out loud. He and Piccolo had made a silent vow to each other and they had to keep it, regardless the outcome of the present fight. Though he didn't like leaving his comrade, his brother behind, there was no other option at the moment.

It seemed the humans understood this, even though a fresh bout of tears were streaming down Erasa's face. Silence held the group captive as they continued their quest.

An eternity later, the group finally arrived within their destination. Surrounded by the multi-colored sky, they soon find a plateau. Taking the opportunity, they landed on it and began investigating it.

There wasn't much to describe the plateau other than flat. However, towards one of the edges, a small rectangular block of stone sat, almost as if it was a makeshift altar. Moving towards it, Trunks soon saw what appeared to be the impression of a handprint on top of the stone.

Turning his head to look at Piccolo, the oddly colored saiyan nodded his head and approached the altar until he stood right next to it.

Piccolo, however, moved in front of Tien, Videl, and Erasa before they could move, standing in their way of reaching the altar. "This is as far as you go," the Namek said gruffly.

"What are you talking about?!" Videl shouted. "What's going on?!"

Tien scowled. "We've been doubled-crossed."

"Not exactly," Trunks spoke up from the altar, standing right in front of it as he looked at the handprint. "What I'm about to do only requires one person and I'm just the man to do it."

"Explain yourself!" the Satan girl roared.

Instead of answering the question, Trunks replied "We've lost Gohan. My brother, Goten, is most likely losing his life as we speak. The world is becoming lonelier with every second."

"I don't know what you're up to," Tien spoke, "but I won't let you do it."

"For someone that has yet to avenge your own friend, I doubt you'd be able to stop him," Piccolo said suddenly.

That comment caught the bald human's attention immediately. What that had to do with the Time Milieu, Tien couldn't see, but the mentioning of Chiaotzu's death by the very man that killed him was enough to get his mind off of it. The bodyguard felt the call of a challenge and he was gonna answer it.

Videl, however, saw the enraged look on her teacher's face. "Tien, this isn't the time to be thinking about that!"

"Oh no, Videl; this is the perfect time," Tien growled. "You want to fight me so bad, Namek? Fine. I'll kill you to avenge Chiaotzu!"

Piccolo merely nodded his head with a small smirk. Reaching up, he removed his turban from his head. During this action, he turned to look at Trunks, seeing the saiyan looking back at him. With a nod of his head, the Namek looked back at Tien as he tossed aside his head gear.

As he took off his mantel, suddenly, Piccolo heaved it at the bald human. In response, Tien caught it and tossed it aside. It was then that Piccolo rammed his shoulder into the human and carried him off his feet. Flying, the Namek forced his opponent to the other side of the plateau, crashing into it soon after.

* * *

Time was of the essence, Videl knew. With her teacher consumed by his anger, there was no way the man was in the right mind to stop their betrayers. Since Erasa didn't have the backbone to stand up to Trunks, that left her as the only sane person at the moment who could stop this whole disaster.

"Trunks, stop this!" she shouted, catching the saiyan's attention. "You have no idea what you're doing!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," the oddly colored saiyan said. "I'm gonna undo this all; everything."

Videl's eyes widened. "Undo everything? Are you insane?!"

Trunks shook his head. "An insane person can't tell the difference between right and wrong, Videl. What I'm about to do is the greatest wrong in history; I know it. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

"You don't have to do it," the Satan girl pleaded, taking a couple steps closer to the saiyan.

"I have no choice. Everything is so wrong, can't you feel it? Things weren't suppose to happen this way and unfortunately, this is the only way I know how to fix it."

Before Videl could do anything else, Trunks pressed his hand into the handprint. Suddenly, the world of rainbows began to change. Small orbs of purple began to float everywhere; some by themselves and others in long chains.

Because she was distracted by this occurrence, the Satan girl failed to notice as a multi-colored mist began to cover Trunks. It wasn't long before Videl finally caught sight of the mist though, and by then it was too late. Right before her, she watched as the saiyan seemed to become a two-dimensional outline of himself before fading into the rainbow mist.

* * *

It was strange. While within the mist of color, Trunks watched as the world around him seemed to melt. Colors literally dripped down until they reached the ground. The next thing the saiyan knew, he was standing in a corridor of stone.

Looking around, the oddly colored saiyan immediately froze. Up ahead, standing at the entrance of another hall, two figures stood. One he didn't recognize at all but the other was someone he was all too familiar with.

Wearing brown suit pants, a white button-up shirt, and a white lab coat, the man known as Gero conversed with his colleague. His long, shaggy, white hair fell to the middle of his shoulder blades; his blue, piercing eyes staring at the man he was talking to.

Keeping absolutely still, Trunks watched the conversation, hoping that neither man would look at him. It seemed some deity was smiling upon him at that moment as both men finished their talk.

The unknown man turned to continue down the corridor away from Trunks as Gero turned to go down the new passage.

Quickly, the oddly colored saiyan was at the juncture of the passageways. Looking down the one Gero went down, he saw the old man walking towards a set of brown wooden doors.

As quietly as he could, the saiyan warrior drew his sword and then walked as fast as he could towards his enemy. "Gero!" he called out.

That caught the older man's attention as he turned to look at him. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Keeping a stoic face as he closed in on him, Trunks said "The man who'll kill you."

Gero's eyes widened. Before he could say anything,

Trunks was in front of him, his sword sliding through the old man's body like a knife through butter. Gero's breath hitched inside his throat, his body numbing all over.

Grabbing his long-time nemesis by his shoulder, Trunks pushed him backwards, allowing his sword to slide out as blood dripped from the blade. Once free, the saiyan spun in a circle in an attempt to gain momentum. With a swing of his sword, he aimed his blade right at Gero's neck.

The strike rang true, just as the saiyan expected, separating the man's head from his shoulders, sending the removed head bouncing down the hall. As Gero's body fell to the ground, Trunks gathered his ki. Aiming his hand at the head, he fired a ki blast that completely incinerated it, ensuring that the brain couldn't be used or resuscitated.

And with that Trunks dropped his arm. It seemed as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders; a relief he had never known washing over him.

Slowly, his grip on his sword loosened until the blade fell to the floor and caused a loud clatter. Staring at it, the oddly colored saiyan watched as his sword slowly dissolved into small orbs of golden light and fade away as each light reached the roof.

Closing his eyes, the warrior tilted his head to look up at the roof, opening his eyes then. "Gohan, Goten, I'm coming," he murmured as more orbs of light began to appear.

Slowly, Trunks's dissolved, just like his sword until he was no more. It was some time later that Gero's decapitated body was found with no sign of his assailant anywhere.

* * *

Through the trees, quicker than light, a young boy raced through the forest, his mind clouded in disappointment. With this long, spiky hair flowing behind him, tear stains on his face, the boy continued his mad pace, finally breaking into a meadow, the grass overgrown from years of neglect.

"Boy, what do you think you're doing?"

Immediately coming to a halt, the young boy looked to the source of the voice, a smile slowly crossing his face. "Nothing much, Grandpa Bardock."

Standing in his battle armor, Bardock looked down at his grandson, no emotion on his face, though his eyes gave away his amusement. "Why is it I don't believe you Gohan?"

Quickly hiding his smile, Gohan answered "Maybe it's because you're old."

A scowl made itself known on the warrior's face. "Watch your tongue, Boy. One of these days, it'll get you in trouble."

Swallowing, Gohan nodded his head.

"Now then, tell me why you've run away from home again," Bardock said as he turned around and headed for the woods.

Running after the man until he was walking with him side by side, Gohan answered "My dad went off to train without me again. He told me he was gonna teach me a new kata but he said he had to prepare for something. It's as if he never has time to do anything with me!"

Shaking his head, Bardock replied, "You know that your father is busy, especially with the Earthlings. They're gonna be arriving here within a month to establish a couple settlements and it's always best to be prepared for the unexpected."

Jumping in front of his grandfather, Gohan looked at him with pleading eyes, "But he promised! He should be training with me now, not with some trees in the mountains!"

"And what about your mother? She should have to worry where her son is?" Bardock countered.

"No…she shouldn't," the young boy gave in, sorrow welling up in him again.

Sighing out loud, the old warrior continued, "If you want training though, it should be something more than some stupid kata. What you need is something that'll make you a man; put hair on your scrawny chest."

Gohan looked up with surprise. "You're gonna teach me something?"

His grandfather nodded. "Its something Kakarot should have the right to teach you but under the circumstances, it looks like I'll be the one to do it."

Seeing the hope grown in his grandson's eyes, Bardock smirked. "Now watch carefully, Boy; I'm only gonna do this once."

Nodding with a serious look on his face, Gohan gave all his attention to his grandfather as the man fell into a stance, his right hand held out before him. Soon, swirling blue energy surround his hand, the ball growing stronger as Bardock fed it more ki. "You see this energy, Gohan?"

"Yes I can," Gohan answered while nodding his head.

"This, my boy, is an attack that's been passed down our family for generations. My father taught me this move when I was a boy, just like I taught your father when he was one…and now I teach it to you."

Gohan's eyes widened. His grandfather's whole story was overwhelming him, along with the ki buildup. Who knew what he could do when he could wield this technique.

"Listen up now, you won't be leaving this property until you've mastered this move, got it? You'll be staying with me and won't see your home until then," Bardock barked, surprising Gohan. He could only nod to this command.

"Good," Bardock smirked. "Now let's see what this puppy can do."

* * *

Well, that's it. The end of a story that started with Battle Stain. Man that was so long ago; can hardly believe its become a trilogy. And like the two fics before it, it leaves rooms for more story; my kind of ending. That and it has become my longest chaptered story, just like BS and Breaking Grace.

Before I end this though, I'd like to thank everyone that's reviewed this story. It's been a pleasure hearing from ya'll and some of you even gave me a couple ideas to use along the way. I have much gratitude for that.

For all who've read this, I thank you as well. Hopefully this has been as thrilling to read as it was to write it.

Huh...it feels weird not having any ideas for this story. Though there's relief that its done, I think I'll miss not writing more of this universe. Perhaps if I ever feel the urge to make more or...something...maybe...

Once again, thank you everyone; readers, reviewers, and everyone in between.

Until next time,

ShadowMajin


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